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AMEHICAN 
RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 


ABBBEJSJSES  DELIVERED    BEFORE    THE   AMERICAN 

RAILWAY  ASmCIATION,   AND  MmCELLANEOUS 

ADDRESSES    AND    PAPERS. 


BY 

HENEY    S.    HAIlSrES, 

Formerly  Vice-President  and  General  Manager  Plant  System  of 

Railway  and  Steamship  Lines,  Ex-President  American 

Railway  Association,  Member  American  Society 

of  Civil  Engineers,  etc. 

<^  OF   THB  ^ 

UNIVERSITY 


FIRST   EDITION, 
FIRST   THOUSAND. 


NEW  YORK: 

JOHN    WILEY    &    SONS. 

London:    CHAPMAN  &  HALL,   Limited. 

1897. 


^^' 


.-\ 


■^ 


^ 


Copyright,  1897, 

BY 

HENRY  S.   HAINES. 


ROUEBT  DRUUHOND,   ELKCTROTYPER  AND  PRINTER,  NEW  YORK. 


PREFACE. 


This  is  a  collection  of  addresses  delivered  at  the  semi- 
annual meetings  of  the  American  Railway  Association  from 
1890  to  1896,  and  of  other  occasional  addresses.  They  re- 
late to  matters  connected  with  the  management  of  railways 
in  the  United  States,  and  have  some  value,  either  as  in- 
dicating opinions  prevalent  at  the  time  that  they  were  pre- 
pared, or  as  bearing  upon  the  development  of  the  American 
railway  system  from  its  inception  to  the  present  time. 
Though,  for  the  most  part,  produced  upon  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  as  opportunities  offered  during  a  busy  life,  some 
of  them  contain  information  gathered  from  various  sources 
which  cannot  be  so  readily  obtained  elsewhere.  For  these 
reasons  it  is  hoped  that  their  republication  in  more  ac- 
cessible form  will  prove  justifiable. 

The  discussion  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission 
Reports  to  1894,  contained  in  the  address  on  "  Rates  of 
Transportation  and  Cost  of  Service  on  American  Rail- 
roads," delivered  in  April,  1895,  has  been  extended  to 
include  the  later  reports  in  the  concluding  article  recently 
written  for  the  purpose,  entitled  "  Value  of  Railroad 
Property  in  the  United  States,  as  shown  by  the  Report  of 
1896  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission.'^ 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  30,  1897. 

lii 


82940 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


ADDRESSES   DELIVERED    BEFORE    THE    AMERICAN 
RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION. 

SUBJECT.  DATE.  PAGE. 

Field  of  Useful  nesss  of  the  Association  April  9,  1890.  - 1 

Discipline  on  Railroads October  8,  1890 8 

Committee  Work  of  the  Association: 
Train    Rules— Car    Mileage— Safety 

Appliances April  8,  1891 16 

Cost  of  Transportation Octyber  14,  1891 2!^ 

Safety  Appliances  :  Car  Couplers April  13,  1892 38 

Standard  Code  of  Train  Rules  :  Block 

System October  12,  1892 62 

Co  operation   in  the  Consideration   of 

Questions  of  Railroad  Management. .  April  12,  1893 76 

Labor  Organizations October  11,  1893 84 

Operating  Expenses  of  a  Railroad April  11,  1894 96 

Rates  of  Transportation   and  Cost  of 

Service  on  American  Railroads April  17,  1895 106 

Railroad  Organization October  16,  1895 128 

Review  of  the  Work  of  the  Association 
for  Ten  Years  :  International  Rail- 
way Congress— Introduction  of  Amer- 
ican Methods  on  Foreign  Railways. . .  April  15,  1896 140 

OCCASIONAL  ADDRESSES,  ETC. 

Efficient  Railroad  Management :  Ad- 
vantages of  an  Advisory  Board  to 
Che  General  Manager — The  Federal 
Idea  of  Organization  in  Civil  Gov- 
ernment Applied  to  Railroad  Man- 
agement. Republished  from  "  Rail- 
way Review  " October,  1884 153 

Classification  of  Freight  Rates:  Com- 
petitive and  Non-competitive  Traffic  ^^- 
— Just  and  Unjust  Discrimination — 
Reasonable  and  Unreasonable  Rates — 
Agreements  for  Pooling  Competitive 
Traffic.  Statement  Made  to  Select 
Committee  on  Inter-State  Commerce, 
United  States  Senate January  18,  1886 187 


IV  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


SUBJECT.  DATE.  PAOB. 

Railway  Accidents  :  Their  Causes,  and 
Practicable  Safeguards  Against  Them 
— Analysis  of  Railway  Accidents  in 
the  United  States  in  1892.  Paper 
Read  before  the  World's  Railway 
Commerce  Congress,  Chicago,  111. . .     June  19-23,  1893 227 

Railroad  Development:  Its  Past,  Pres- 
ent, and  Future.  Address  Delivered 
in  Federal  Hall,  World's  Columbian 
Exposition,  Chicago,  111.,  on  Railroad 
Day September  16,  1893. . .  258 

A  Railroad  Man  :  His  Training  and  Ca- 
reer. Address  Delivered  at  the  Anni- 
versary Meeting  of  the  Railroad 
Branch,  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, New  York  City June  30,  1894 271 

The  Roadmaster  and  Section  Foreman. 
Address  Delivered  at  the  Annual 
Meeting  of  the  Roadmasters'  Associa- 
tion of  America,  New  York  City. . .       September  11,  1894. . .  286 

Proposed  Meeting  in  the  United  Slates 
of  the  International  Railway  Congress 
— Introduction  of  American  Methods, 
Men,  and  Manufactures  on  Foreign 
Railways.  Address  Delivered  at  the 
Annual  Dinner  of  tbe  Western  Rail- 
way Clnb,  Chicago,  111 September  17,  1895. . .  290 

Development  of  the  Construction  of 
Freight  and  Passenger  Cars  in  the 
United  States  :  Address  delivered  at 
the  Thirtieth  Annual  Convention  of 
the  Master  Car  Builders'  Association, 
Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y June  17,  1896 298 

Value  of  Railroad  Property  in  the 
United  States,  as  Shown' from  the  Re- 
port of  1896  of  the  Inter- State  Com- 
merce Commission July  30, 1897 308 


ADDRESSES 

DELIVEKED  BEFORE  THE 

AMERICAN  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION. 


FIELD  OF  USEFULNESS  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 

(April  9,  1890,  at  Hotel  Brunswick,  New  York.) 

I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  express  my  ap- 
preciation of  the  honor  which  has  been  conferred  upon  me 
in  thrice  electing  me  to  the  position  which  I  am  now 
about  to  vacate,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  I  can  do  so  in  no 
more  fitting  way  than  by  describing  the  field  of  usefulness 
which,  in  my  opinion,  the  General  Time  Convention  could 
properly  occupy. 

Originating  in  the  necessity  for  conforming  local  time- 
tables to  continuous  train  service,  the  Northern  and  the 
Southern  Conventions  were  so  impressed  with  the  incon- 
veniences of  local  standards  ci  time  that  they  attempted, 
independently  of  each  other,  to  establish  a  uniform 
standard.  In  making  this  attempt  the  two  conventions 
were  led  to  co-operation  with  such  successful  results  that 
they  next  joined  in  the  establishment  of  uniform  train 
signals.  The  next  step  was  to  a  uniform  code  of  train 
rules.  By  this  time  the  advantages  attendant  upon  co- 
operation became  so  apparent  that  a  move  was  made 
toward  consolidation,  which  was  effected  at  Cincinnati 


2  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

in  1886,  and  the  General  Time  Convention  as  thus  organ- 
ized completed  the  Code  of  Train  Rules  which  is  now 
acknowledged  as  the  standard  to  which  railroad  practice 
must  conform. 

In  carrying  out  these  reforms  the  General  Time  Con- 
vention has  developed  into  a  well  organized  association 
representing  the  operating  departments  of  most  of  the 
railroads  in  the  country. 

As  a  member  of  the  committee  originally  entrusted 
with  the  consolidation  of  the  two  conventions;  as  the 
official  head  of  this  consolidated  Convention  for  the  past 
three  years,  I  have  watched  its  development  with  interest. 
I  have  seen  it  gradually  transformed  from  a  sort  of  mass 
meeting  for  the  consideration  of  time-tables  into  a  deliber- 
ative body  of  representative  men,  gathered  together  from 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  skilled  in  every  branch 
of  railroad  management;  a  body  with  a  permanent  organi- 
zation prepared  to  preserve  and  carry  forward  the  expe- 
riences accumulated  from  year  to  year.  I  recognize  the 
powerful  forces  inherent  in  such  an  organization  and  the 
useful  purposes  which  it  can  fulfill  if  directed  aright. 

It  is  indeed  a  proper  time  for  such  reflections,  for,  in  my 
opinion,  the  General  Time  Convention  has  now  reached 
a  critical  period  in  its  development.  Originated,  as  I  have 
already  said,  for  a  minor  purpose,  it  has  been  engaged  in 
the  solution  of  a  few  desultory  problems  that  have  been 
presented  to  it.  One  after  another  these  problems  have 
been  disposed  of,  until  at  this  meeting  there  is  substantially 
but  one  subject  before  it — that  of  car  service. 

Suppose  that  subject  disposed  of,  and  for  what  purpose 
shall  the  General  Time  Convention  exist  ?  Fortunately 
it  has  now  been  directed  to  a  subject  perhaps  equal  in  im- 
portance to  any  which  has  hitherto  demanded  its  atten- 
tion— that  of  safety  appliances — one  which  contains 
matter  of  sufficient  moment,  let  us  hope,  to  maintain  our 
interest  in  the  immediate  future  of  our  association. 

But  I  ask  you  if  the  time  has  not  arrived  to  determine 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.  3 

whether  we  shall  continue  to  drift  along  with  each  varying 
current,  or  whether  we  shall  map  out  a  course  for  our- 
selves, and  resolutely  pursue  it.  To  my  mind,  this  asso- 
ciation of  ours  is  equal  to  the  consideration  of  more  than 
one  subject  at  a  time,  equal  indeed  to  as  many  as  may  pre- 
sent themselves  in  its  legitimate  field  of  operations.  I  say 
its  legitimate  field,  and  I  use  that  expression  advisedly,  for 
*  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  should  be  restricted  to  the  con- 
sideration of  subjects  in  which  the  members  have  a  com- 
mon interest.  This  is  true  of  standard  time,  of  uniform 
signals  and  train  rules,  of  car  service  and  of  safety  appli- 
ances. But  those  subjects  are  outside  of  its  field  which  in- 
volve other  considerations  than  those  relating  solely  to  rail- 
road practice  ;.  for  instance,  questions  of  policy  with  ref- 
erence to  traffic  which  may  arouse  individual  contentions 
and  competitions  between  members  of  the  association  or  be- 
tween the  communities  which  they  serve,  and  which  will 
dominate  their  discussion  even  though  they  do  not  appear  to 
do  so.  The  issues  involved  in  the  questions  hitherto  be- 
fore us  have  been  mainly  due  to  a  difference  of  opinion 
capable  of  adjustment  either  by  argument  or  by  proof.  I 
maintain,  therefore,  that  the  General  Time  Convention 
should  avoid  any  subject  relating  to  traffic  or  revenue,  and 
should  confine  itself  to  matters  of  operation  and  economy. 
The  field  is  large  enough  to  occupy  all  the  time  that  we 
can  devote  to  the  business  of  our  association,  and  includes 
matters  well  worthy  of  our  attention. 

Assuming  then  that  our  proper  field  is  that  of  operation 
and  management,  as  distinguished  from  traffic  and 
revenue,  we  have  next  to  consider  how  these  matters 
should  be  treated.  I  should  say  either  as  they  affect  our 
stockholders,  or  our  employees,  or  the  public,  for  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that,  as  railroad  managers,  we  occupy  this 
threefold  relation.  It  is  in  this  triple  relation  that  we 
have  considered  the  questions  that  have  hitherto  been  pre- 
sented to  us,  and  that  we  have  now  to  approach  the  sub- 
ject of  safety  appliances.     Treated  in  this  way,  there  will 


4  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

be  no  lack  of  matter  for  our  deliberations.  The  march 
of  progress  has  not  yet  brought  our  railroad  systems  to 
that  condition  which  leaves  nothing  further  to  be  desired, 
and  there  are  improvements  in  methods  and  appliances 
now  passing  from  the  experimental  stage,  in  which  they  are 
properly  the  subjects  for  consideration  in  technical  as- 
sociations, to  the  stage  in  which  the  responsible  manage- 
ments of  our  railroad  systems  must  decide  whether  they 
will  recognize  them  as  sufficiently  valuable  for  general 
adoption.  So  it  has  been  with  the  substitution  of  steel  for 
iron  rails,  and  iron  for  wooden  bridges,  with  the  estab- 
lishment of  sleeping  car  lines,  with  the  adoption  of  con- 
tinuous air  brakes  and  automatic  couplers  on  passenger 
trains,  and  so  it  will  be  with  similar  improvements  in 
methods  and  appliances. 

As  railroad  managers  we  also  handle  men  as  well  as 
material  and  appliances,  and  here  is  a  field  for  our  efforts 
as  yet  scarcely  touched,  at  least  in  the  way  in  which  I 
would  like  to  see  it  treated. 

A  railroad  system,  properly  organized,  has  its  staff,  field 
and  line  officers,  its  supply  departments,  its  inspectors, 
its  divisions  and  districts  of  operation;  in  a  word,  it  is  an 
army,  whose  office  is  not  to  slay,  not  to  devastate,  but  to 
transport  the  people  and  products  of  a  country.  This  is 
its  function,  and  to  this  end  all  of  its  efforts  are  directed; 
and  to  accomplish  this  end  successfully  discipline  is  as 
essential  as  in  a  militant  organization.  With  the  growth  of 
our  business,  with  the  extending  area  of  operations  and 
the  increasing  number  and  speed  of  trains,  there  must  be 
an  increased  strictness  of  discipline  and  an  enforcement 
of  that  discipline  by  penalties  as  irksome  to  the  employee 
as  in  a  military  army  the  incessant  drill  and  the  penal 
regulations  are  to  the  soldier.  A  resistance  to  restraint 
and  reproof,  a  mutinous  tendency,  a  disposition  to  oppose 
the  interests  of  the  company  in  matters  indifferent  to  the 
employee  have  been,  I  fear,  encouraged  by  labor  organiza- 
tions, whose  ostensible  objects  are  the  pecuniary,  moral 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".  5 

and  social  welfare  of  their  members.  If  this  spirit  is  to 
prevail,  the  maintenance  of  that  discipline  will  be  im- 
perilled, which  is  as  essential  for  their  own  safety  as  for 
the  protection  of  the  lives  of  onr  passengers  and  the 
property  of  our  stockholders. 

The  rapid  increase  of  railroad  mileage  and  tonnage  has 
led  to  the  enlistment  of  a  mob  of  recruits  in  our  industrial 
army  as  unused  to  discipline  and  to  obedience  to  control 
as  they  are  averse  to  them.  In  this  emergency  railroad 
managers  have  been  compelled  to  take  this  material  as  it 
comes  to  their  hands,  and  to  make  the  best  possible  use 
of  it  ;  but  with  a  decreasing  ratio  of  railroad  construction 
this  necessity  will  also  decrease,  and  we  will  then  have 
time  at  our  disposal  to  drill  the  disorderly  and  disaffected 
members  into  a  proper  state  of  discipline  and  to  dismiss 
the  incapables  from  the  ranks.  For  this  work  to  be  suc- 
cessful we  must  arouse  among  them  a  feeling  of  pride  in 
the  organization  to  which  they  belong,  of  respect  for  their 
officers,  and  of  interest  in  the  work  which  they  have  in 
hand,  which  is  known  as  esprit  de  corps;  a  spirit  which  has 
carried  armies  through  privation,  suffering  and  defeat  to 
victory,  and  without  which  no  body  of  men  can  be  con- 
trolled under  adverse  circumstances.  How  to  do  this  with 
the  opposition  of  labor  unions  better  organized  than  we 
are  is  indeed  a  subject  well  worth  our  consideration,  and  one 
which  we  will  have  to  face  sooner  or  later,  whether  we  like 
it  or  not.  It  would  be  out  of  place  for  me  to  do  more  than 
to  indicate  the  direction  which  the  discussion  of  this  sub- 
ject would  take.  I  will  suggest,  however,  that  when  the 
rapid  absorption  of  outsiders  into  the  railroad  ranks  shall 
cease  and  all  questions  of  wages  shall  have  been  approxi- 
mately adjusted,  whether  by  arbitration  or  by  the  effect  of 
supply  and  demand,  the  time  in  my  opinion  will  have 
arrived  to  determine  the  relations  between  a  railroad  cor- 
poration and  its  employees  which  should  ensure  the  best  re- 
sults of  their  labor  to  themselves,  to  the  company  and  to  the 
public.     Here  will  come  in  questions  as  to  permanency  of 


6  AMERICAK"  RAILWAY  3fANAGEMEKT. 

employment,  insurance  against  injuries,  sickness  and  old 
age,  priority  of  promotion,  recognition  of  meritorious  ser- 
vices, and  protection  against  abuse  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other,  questions  of  training  for  special  duties,  obedience 
to  orders,  respect  to  superiors,  &c.,  which  have  occupied 
the  attention  of  military  men  for  thousands  of  years,  and 
which  have  led  to  the  application  of  certain  recognized 
principles  to  an  army  of  fighting  men  that  are  in  many  re- 
spects as  applicable  to  an  army  of  railroad  men. 

Although  I  know  that  I  have  extended  these  remarks 
to  a  considerable  length,  I  feel  that  I  have  not  covered 
the  ground  to  my  satisfaction  until  I  have  touched  upon 
one  more  point,  and  that  is  our  relations  to  the  public;  for 
I  believe  that  in  this  respect  also  there  are  matters  worthy 
of  consideration  by  the  General  Time  Convention. 

We  are  but  too  unpleasantly  aware  of  the  attitude  as- 
sumed toward  railroad  companies  by  the  general  public. 
Let  this  have  arisen  as  it  may,  whether  because  of  watered 
stocks  or  political  demagoguery  or  the  discrimination 
between  shippers  and  communities  in  the  matter  of  rates, 
we  all  know  of  its  existence,  we  feel  it  but  too  sensibly  in 
Federal  and  State  legislation  and  in  municipal  ordinances, 
in  litigation,  in  political  speeches,  in  newspaper  abuse. 
Must  this  condition  of  affairs  continue  ?  Is  it  the  relation 
which  must  of  necessity  be  maintained  between  the  nation, 
the  cities,  the  people  who  have  been  made  prosperous  by 
means  of  railroads  to  an  extent  never  dreamed  of  before, 
and  the  companies  through  whose  efforts  these  great  re- 
sults have  been  obtained  ?  To  my  mind,  if  the  triumphs 
of  war  have  earned  for  the  soldier  the  applause  of  his  fel- 
low-citizens, the  triumphs  of  peace  have  at  least  earned  for 
the  railroad  man  the  right  to  decent  treatment  at  their 
hands.  And  I  hope  and  believe  that  there  will  be  an  im- 
provement in  this  respect  with  the  disappearance  of 
animosity  over  disputes  about  matters  of  traffic  and 
revenue. 

The  great  contention  as  to  discrimination  in  rates  k 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.  7 

nearing  an  end,  for  the  margin  between  the  rate  and  the 
cost  per  ton  mile  has  now  narrowed  down  to  a  survival  of 
the  fittest.  The  determination  on  the  part  of  the  poli- 
ticians to  insure  competition  has  but  proved  the  truth  of 
Stephenson's  assertion  that  where  competition  is  possible 
combination  is  probable;  the  prevention  of  pools  has  hast- 
ened the  absorption  of  the  weaker  by  the  stronger  cor- 
porations, and  the  time  is  approaching  when  one  of  two 
solutions  of  the  railroad  transportation  problem  must  be 
attempted:  either  a  government  management  or  a  territo- 
rial division  among  private  corporations.  In  no  other  way 
can  the  difference  between  the  rate  and  the  cost  per  ton 
mile  be  reduced  to  a  minimum;  that  minimum  being  the 
lowest  acceptable  return  upon  the  capital  invested.  When 
that  time  arrives  the  era  of  the  railroad  projector,  of  the 
manipulator  of  stocks,  and  of  the  soliciting  agent  will 
have  passed  away.  When  that  millennium  has  been  at- 
tained the  railroad  manager  will  still  have  problems  to 
solve  relating  to  the  safety  of  life  and  property,  to  the 
commodious  and  speedy  transportation  of  passengers,  and 
to  the  prompt  dispatch  of  freight.  In  the  solution  of 
problems  of  this  character,  relating  to  the  public,  as  well 
as  those  relating  to  our  employees  and  to  our  stockholders, 
there  is  a  field  for  the  General  Time  Convention,  and  it  is 
to  this  field  that  I  undertake  to  direct  your  attention  in  ex- 
pressing my  appreciation  of  the  honor  conferred  on  me 
by  electing  me  three  times  as  president  of  your  association. 


AMERICAK  RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 


DISCIPLINE  ON  EAILROADS. 

(October  8,  1890,  at  Hotel  Brunswick,  New  York.) 

In  the  address  which  I  made  in  this  room,  just  a  year 
ago,  I  called  your  attention  to  a  matter  about  which  I 
propose  to  speak  to-day  at  greater  length,  and  I  will  pref- 
ace my  remarks  by  a  quotation  from  that  address: 

"  A  railroad  system  properly  organized,  has  its  staff,  field 
and  line  officers,  its  supply  departments,  its  inspectors,  its 
divisions  and  districts  of  operation;  in  a  word,  it  is  an 
army,  whose  office  is  not  to  slay,  not  to  devastate,  but  to 
transport  the  people  and  products  of  a  country.  This  is 
its  function,  and  to  this  end  all  of  its  efforts  are  directed  ; 
and  to  accomplish  this  end  successfully  discipline  is  as  es- 
sential as  in  a  militant  organization." 

This  is  my  theme  to-day,  the  subject  of  Discipline, 
which  I  shall  endeavor  to  place  before  you  as  it  appears 
to  me;  to  impress  you  with  the  importance  of  viewing  it 
in  a  broad  light  as  affecting  the  interests  of  the  public, 
and  of  the  railroad  employee  as  well  as  of  the  stockholder, 

I  am  the  more  impelled  to  do  this  for  the  reason  that  the 
purposes  for  which  it  is  sought  to  maintain  efficient  disci- 
pline upon  a  railroad  are  not  clearly  understood  by  those 
who  are  subjected  to  it,  nor  are  they  always  kept  in  view 
by  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  enforce  them. 

To  arrive  at  such  an  understanding  it  may  be  well  to 
recognize  what  is  meant  by  discipline,  in  its  broadest 
sense. 

Discipline  really  means  a  teaching  or  training,  and  those 
who  are  the  subjects  of  discipline,  those  who  are  being 
trained  or  taught,  are  known  as  disciples  or  pupils.  The 
object  then  which  is  to  be  attained  by  discipline  is  the 
teaching  or  training  of  certain  persons,  that  they  may 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.  9 

be  the  better  fitted  for  the  work  which  they  are  to  under- 
take. 

This  is  the  starting  point  from  which  I  propose  to  dis- 
cuss the  question  of  discipline  on  a  railroad,  that  is,  to 
look  upon  it  as  the  training  of  certain  persons  for  a  special 
purpose,  the  safe  and  speedy  transportation  by  rail  of  pas- 
sengers and  freight,  and  the  persons  whom  we  have  in 
view,  the  railroad  employees,  we  are  to  consider  as  pupils 
who  are  to  be  instructed  in  the  efficient  performance  of 
this  very  important  work. 

They  come  from  the  ordinary  walks  of  life,  generally 
before  they  have  attained  their  majority,  not  only  ignorant 
of  railroad  rules  and  regulations,  but  with  minds  un- 
formed, and  possibly  with  habits  already  acquired  of 
which  they  must  divest  themselves  to  acceptably  discharge 
the  duties  required  of  them. 

They  make  their  appearance  in  the  railroad  ranks  as 
track  hands,  as  brakemen  or  switchmen,  as  engine  wipers 
or  as  messenger  boys,  and  are  the  raw  materials  out  of 
which  are  to  be  made  section  foremen  and  roadmasters, 
conductors,  operators,  dispatchers  and  masters  of  trans- 
portation, locomotive  engineers  and  master  mechanics, 
and  I  have  only  to  look  around  me  to  see  that  from  their 
number,  by  a  process  of  natural  selection,  are  obtained 
many  of  those  who  have  risen  to  the  highest  offices  in  the 
railroad  service. 

What  can  I  say  to  impress  more  forcibly  upon  you  the 
importance  of  having  correct  ideas  with  reference  to  rail- 
road discipline  ?     . 

Beginning  with  the  raw  material  which  is  to  be  moulded 
into  serviceable  shape,  we  have  first  to  ask  whether  this 
material  should  not  be  picked  over;  that  selected  which 
seems  best  adapted  for  our  service,  and  that  rejected  which 
is  evidently  unfitted  for  it;  whether  that  selection  or  weed- 
ing out  will  not  be  facilitated,  and  the  operation  made 
easier  both  to  those  who  are  to  teach  and  to  those  who  are 
to  be  taught,  if  a  preliminary  examination  were  made  es- 


10  AMERtCA:tr   RAILWAY   MA^ACEMENT. 

sential  to  the  employment  of  all  novices  in  transportation 
service.  Such  an  examination  to  be  of  value,  should  take 
the  form  of  an  inquiry  into  the  physical,  mental  and 
moral  characteristics  of  the  applicant  in  a  general  way 
with  some  farther  tests  of  his  suitability  for  the  par- 
ticular branch  of  the  service  in  which  he  seeks  employ- 
ment. Looking  to  the  physical  examination  it  is  plain 
to  us  all  that  a  man  who  is  deaf  or  blind  is  out  of  place 
in  transportation  service,  and  that  defective  sight  and 
hearing  should  be  detected  before  they  cause  the  loss  of 
life  or  property.  The  examination  might  also  include 
a  search  for  serious  defects  in  other  organs  than  those  of 
sound  and  vision.  The  mental  examination  ought  to 
cover  certain  educational  requirements,  at  least  that  the 
applicant  should  be  able  to  read  and  write  the  English 
language,  and  have  some  knowledge  of  the  ground  rules  of 
arithmetic.  The  moral  examination  should  provide  for 
some  satisfactory  evidence  as  to  the  reputation  of  the  ap- 
plicant for  honesty  and  sobriety. 

Such  a  preliminary  examination  as  I  have  indicated 
could  fairly  be  required  of  one  who  sought  a  position  in 
which  at  an  early  stage  in  his  career  he  would  be  called  on 
for  some  exercise  of  the  qualities  I  have  mentioned. 

The  flagman,  the  fireman,  the  telegraph  operator  should 
be  able  to  see  and  to  hear,  to  read  and  to  write,  to  keep 
sober  and  to  tell  the  truth,  and  it  is  due  to  the  public  that 
they  serve,  and  to  the  employees  with  whom  they  serve, 
that  their  ability  to  do  these  things  should  be"  tested  be- 
fore they  are  tried  in  actual  service  and  found  wanting. 

The  establishment  of  preliminary  examinations  should 
assure  to  those  who  had  passed  them  a  prescriptive  right 
to  employment  as  opportunity  offered,  and  after  it  had 
become  well  known  that  the  holder  of  a  pass  certificate 
would  have  precedence  for  employment  over  those  who 
were  not  so  equipped  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining material  so  selected  for  training  in  railroad  service. 

With  the  admission  of  a  raw  recruit  into  the  railroad 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATIOK.        11 

ranks  should  begin  his  special  training  for  the  particular 
branch  in  which  he  is  to  serve;  the  acquisition  of  manual 
dexterity  in  his  calling,  of  aptness  in  observing  and 
imitating  the  operations  in  which  he  is  to  take  a  part,  and 
especially  of  a  knowledge  of  the  rules  and  regulations 
which  are  to  guide  his  conduct.  Our  experience  in  rail- 
road management  is  leading  us  to  recognize  more  and 
more  the  importance  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  rules 
by  those  who  are  to  obey  them.  Indeed,  what  kind  of 
obedience  can  be  expected  where  ignorance  prevails  ? 
Take,  for  instance,  the  Standard  Train  Eules.  Eecall  the 
labor  expended  upon  them  that  they  might  fulfill  their 
purpose  and  be  clearly  understood.  They  are  to  guide  the 
train  dispatcher,  the  operator,  the  engineer,  the  con- 
ductor, the  flagman,  and  in  the  performance  of  their  duties 
those  rules  are  to  be  strictly  observed.  How  can  you  de- 
mand this  of  men  who  do  not  know  what  is  expected  of 
them  ?  I  therefore  insist  that  the  regulations  of  the  com- 
pany, and  especially  the  train  rules,  should  be  taught  to 
the  beginner,  and  that  his  proficiency  in  them  should  be 
essential  not  only  to  his  advancement  but  to  his  continu- 
ance in  the  service.  This  will  call  for  examination  on  this 
particular  subject  when  time  enough  has  elapsed  after  his 
entry  into  the  service  for  any  man  to  have  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  them  who  had  been  able  to  pass  the  prelimi- 
nary examination.  If  these  rules  are  of  such  importance 
as  to  have  occupied  for  months  the  minds  of  some  of  our 
ablest  railroad  managers  in  order  to  make  them  a  safe- 
guard against  accidents,  then  it  is  not  asking  too  much  of 
the  employee  to  show  that  he  knows  how  to  conform  to 
them  before  placing  him  where  a  failure  to  do  so  invites 
disaster. 

But  knowing  is  one  thing  and  doing  another.  Many 
men  are  able  to  do  things  which  through  indifference  or 
neglect  or  recklessness  they  fail  to  do,  and  it  is  not  enough 
that  we  assure  ourselves  that  our  men  know  what  to  do  to 
avoid  accidents;  we  must  endeavor  to  be  equally  sure  that 


1^  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

they  will  apply  that  knowledge  at  the  proper  time.  This 
we  should  make  it  their  interest  to  do  by  the  time-honored 
inducements  of  reward  and  punishment.  From  the  high- 
est heavens  to  the  lowest  depths  this  has  been  the  main- 
stay of  lawgivers,  both  human  and  divine,  and  it  must  also 
be  ours  to  ensure  the  observance  of  these  rules  by  those 
who,  in  the  absence  of  such  inducements,  would  not  re- 
spect them.  We  have  something  of  this  sort  at  present. 
We  offer  promotions  and  a  choice  of  positions  to  those 
who  do  well,  and  resort  to  fines,  suspensions  or  dismissal 
of  those  who  do  badly.  But  for  a  system  of  rewards  and 
punishments  to  be  effective  it  must  be  a  system  indeed. 
It  must  as  far  as  possible  protect  the  employee  against  the 
results  of  malice  or  bad  temper  or  hasty  decisions  on  the 
part  of  his  immediate  superior.  A  man  should  lose 
neither  his  Job  nor  his  pay  except  for  a  clearly-established 
violation  of  a  rule  with  which  he  is  familiar;  his  side  of 
the  case  should  be  heard  before  judgment  is  pronounced, 
and  the  penalty  should  be  graded  to  suit  the  extent  of  his 
offence.  All  this  requires  patience  and  self-restraint  on 
the  part  of  his  judges,  and  if  they  are  lacking  in  those 
qualities  not  justice  but  injustice  will  often  be  done. 
It  is  not  sufficient,  then,  to  publish  a  well-devised  set  of 
train  rules  and  feel  that  your  duty  as  to  enforcing  them 
has  been  done  if  you  suspend  or  dismiss  some  one  when- 
ever there  is  an  accident.  Your  duty  requires  you  first  to 
see  to  it  that  every  man  put  under  those  rules  shall  know 
what  is  expected  of  him;  next,  that  there  shall  be  such  an 
inspection  and  supervision  of  their  work  that  violation  of 
rules  are  detected  before  a  bridge  falls  down  or  a  derail- 
ment takes  place  or  a  collision  occurs  ;  and,  farther,  that 
punishment  shall  follow  swiftly  upon  the  heels  of  the 
offence,  not  capriciously  nor  hastily  nor  abusively,  but 
that  the  violation  shall  be  brought  home  so  clearly  to  the 
offender  that  he  has  to  acknowledge  his  shortcoming  and 
in  some  way  to  suffer  for  it.  It  is  not  so  necessary  that  the 
penalty  be  severe  as  that  it  shall  be  certainly  and  justly 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.        13 

iiaflicted.  As  I  have  already  said,  this  calls  for  patience 
and  self-restraint  on  the  part  of  his  judges.  But  surely 
the  purpose  in  view  is  worth  all  that  it  will  cost,  and  it  is 
part  of  the  value  of  true  discipline  that  it  acts  beneficially 
upon  the  superior  as  well  as  upon  those  placed  under  him. 
A  proper  sense  of  discipline  will  prevent  abusive  language 
or  tyrannical  conduct  as  well  as  disrespect  or  disobedience. 
Repeating  the  language  of  my  previous  address,  "  for  this 
work  to  be  successful  we  must  arouse  among  our  men  a 
feeling  of  pride  in  the  organization  to  which  they  belong, 
of  respect  for  their  officers,  and  of  interest  in  the  work 
they  have  in  hand,  which  is  known  as  esprit  du  corps;  a 
spirit  which  has  carried  armies  through  privations,  suffer- 
ing and  defeat  to  victory,  and  without  which  no  body  of 
men  can  be  controlled  under  adverse  circumstances.^' 

This  is  the  spirit  which  impels  the  flagman  to  go  back 
in  snow  or  rain  to  stop  an  approaching  train  instead  of 
skulking  in  the  rear  of  the  caboose;  which  nerves  the  en- 
gineer to  stand  at  the  throttle  lever  when  danger  is  im- 
pending rather  than  to  loap  for  life  and  leave  his  passen- 
gers to  their  fate.  This  is  the  spirit  which  results  from 
training  mind  and  body  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right 
time,  that  true  discipline  which  is  the  foundation  of 
efficient  service. 

I  shall  not  enter  into  details  as  to  methods.  The  time 
is  not  sufficient  to  do  so,  particularly  as  there  is  yet  another 
aspect  of  the  subject  which  I  wish  to  present  before  I 
close. 

For  some  reasons  in  some  quarters  there  is  a  disposition 
to  resent  the  attempt  to  enforce  discipline  and  obedience 
to  rules  by  any  penalties,  yet  as  I  have  said  no  code  of 
laws  has  ever  been  efficiently  administered  except  through 
the  medium  of  rewards  and  punishments.  The  object  to 
be  attained  is  one  in  which  the  welfare  of  the  employee 
is  at  stake  as  well  as  the  lives  of  passengers  and  the 
property  of  the  company.  It  is  this  view  which  should  be 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  men  as  the  aim  and  end 


14  AMERICA!^   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

of  rules,  that  so  far  from  discipline  being  a  degradation 
to  a  right  thinking  man,  to  one  who  means  to  do  his  duty, 
it  is  intended  to  lift  him  to  a  higher  grade  of  usefulness 
by  such  training  as  will  the  better  fit  him  for  it.  If  with 
this  idea  is  also  conveyed  a  sense  of  just  treatment,  we 
may  hope  that  these  erroneous  impressions  will  be  re- 
moved, and  that  employees  will  sustain  their  officers  in 
their  efforts  to  ensure  a  prompt  compliance  with  rules,  and 
an  impartial  and  conscientious  enforcement  of  discipline. 

The  traveling  public  has  also  an  interest  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  discipline,  which  is  brought  home  to  every  pas- 
senger who  has  been  an  eye-witness  to  a  train  wreck,  or 
perhaps  a  bodily  sufferer  from  one.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
in  a  majority  of  cases  the  immediate  cause  has  been  the 
neglect  of  duty  by  an  employee.  The  railroad  company 
may  invest  millions  in  bridges,  rails,  signals  and  equip- 
ment, all  of  the  most  approved  design  and  construction; 
the  management  may  keep  up  with  the  times  in  the 
adoption  of  devices  and  rules  for  the  protection  of  trains, 
and  yet  all  this  expenditure,  all  this  care  and  forethought 
be  neutralized  by  the  laziness  or  recklessness  of  an  em- 
ployee, and  a  fearful  disaster  ensue.  Here  it  is  that  wc 
should  call  public  opinion  to  our  support.  Let  its  power- 
ful exponent,  the  newspaper,  blame  the  president  and 
board  of  directors  if  they  have  been  niggardly  in  expendi- 
ture or  have  retained  incompetent  officials,  let  it  inveigh 
against  the  manager  or  superintendent  who  has  personally 
failed  in  his  duty,  but  let  it  also  include  in  its  invective 
the  employee,  who,  knowing  his  duty,  has  failed  to  per- 
form it.  The  courts  of  the  land  should  aid  in  this  work. 
The  violation  of  a  train  rule  should  be  considered  as  an 
infraction  of  the  law,  and  the  offender  should  have  to  face 
a  jury  of  his  countrymen  as  well  as  a  railroad  court-martial 
when  death  and  disaster  can  be  traced  to  his  neglect  or 
misconduct. 

In  no  way  can  the  newspapers  of  this  country  do  more 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         15 

to  increase  the  safety  of  railroad  travel  than  by  insisting 
that  a  violation  of  train  rules  should  be  punished  by  law. 

There  is  yet  another  and  higher  view  that  we  should  all 
take  of  this  question  of  railroad  discipline,  that  which  is 
based  upon  a  sense  of  duty,  of  the  faithful  discharge  of 
the  obligations  which  we  have  voluntarily  assumed,  the 
view  that  what  we  have  undertaken  to  do,  what  we  are 
paid  to  do,  we  must  do  honestly,  conscientiously,  fearlessly; 
that  view  of  duty  which  has  been  expressed  by  one  of  our 
great  thinkers  in  four  lines,  with  which  I  will  conclude 
my  address: 

So  nigh  is  grandeur  to  our  dust, 

So  near  is  God  to  man, 
When  Duty  whispers  low,  "  Thou  must," 

The  soul  replies,  "  I  can. " 


16  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMEiNT. 


COMMITTEE    WOEK    OF    THE    ASSOCIATION: 

TRAIN  RULES— CAR  MILEAGE— SAFETY 

APPLIANCES. 

(April  8,  1891,  at  Hotel  Brunswick,  New  York.) 

The  remarks  which  I  made  at  our  last  meeting  were  re- 
ceived with  so  much  favor  as  to  encourage  me  at  this  meet- 
ing to  say  something  about  the  work  presently  before  us. 
Much  of  this  work  is  prepared  by  our  Standing  Commit- 
tees, and  it  is  their  relation  to  the  departments  of  railroad 
management  referred  to  them  respectively  for  considera- 
tion that  I  now  propose  to  discuss. 

The  first  in  point  of  seniority  is  the  Committee  on  the 
Standard  Code  of  Train  Rules,  a  committee  to  whose  ex- 
perience, zeal  and  ability  we  are  indebted  for  that  great 
work  which  has  attracted  the  admiration  of  those  com- 
petent to  appreciate  its  value,  and  which  has  established 
the  General  Time  Convention  as  an  authority  on  this  and 
kindred  subjects. 

When  the  Standard  Code  had  been  passed  upon  and 
adopted  by  the  convention,  the  special  committee  to  which 
its  preparation  had  been  entrusted  was  not  dissolved,  but 
was  continued  as  a  standing  committee  charged  with  the 
duty  of  modifying  its  provisions  as  use  might  disclose 
its  defects,  or  as  alterations  might  be  required  to  keep  it 
in  accord  with  improvements  in  equipment  or  appliances. 
My  own  observation  leads  me  to  believe  that  some  of  its 
provision  could  be  more  readily  understood  if  stated  at 
greater  length;  and  further,  that  there  is  a  possibility  for 
improvement  in  the  rules  for  preventing  rear  collisions,  a 
class  of  collisions  which  forms  a  large  percentage  of  train 
accidents,  and  which  occur  more  frequently  with  freight 
than  with  passenger  trains. 

Neither  modern  practice  nor  the  Code  recognizes  more 
than  two  ways  of  preventing  them — either  the  bloclr 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         17 

system  or  the  flagman.  In  degree  of  efficiency  these  two 
ways  are  about  as  far  apart  as  the  poles  of  the  earth.  The 
one,  the  latest  expression  of  human  ingenuity  as  applied 
to  railway  practice;  the  other,  a  makeshift,  the  inefficiency 
of  which  is  in  proportion  to  the  stupidity  or  indolence  of 
the  flagman  with  whom  it  leaves  the  protection  of  the 
train.  The  absolute  block  system  is  in  principle  an  abso- 
lute safeguard  against  rear  collisions,  but  the  great  cost  of 
its  construction  and  maintenance  precludes  its  use  on  by 
far  the  larger  part  of  the  railroad  mileage  in  this  country. 

In  the  absence  of  the  block  system  the  Standard  Code 
relegates  that  extensive  mileage  to  the  watchfulness  of  the 
flagman,  who  of  his  own  motion,  without  waiting  for  an 
order  from  the  conductor,  is  required  to  leap  from  the 
rear  of  the  moving  train  as  soon  as  he  can  do  so  safely,  and, 
armed  with  red  lantern  and  torpedoes,  to  plunge  boldly 
into  the  darkness  of  night,  perhaps  facing  rain,  snow  or 
sleet,  hastening  with  a  stout  heart  toward  the  headlight 
of  the  following  train  which  glares  at  him  as  he  feels  for 
his  footing  on  the  cross-ties  upon  some  lofty  bridge  or 
long  trestle;  or  at  length  he  reaches  the  prescribed  dis- 
tance of  twenty-six  telegraph  poles,  or  about  one  mile, 
plants  his  torpedoes  and  listens  with  eager  ear  for  the 
signal  of  recall,  and  if  through  haste  to  depart,  or  inad- 
vertence, or  evil  intent  the  signal  is  not  given,  and  his 
train  moves  off  without  him,  that  flagman  may  pass  the 
night  in  solitude,  perhaps  wet,  cold  and  hungry,  or  until 
some  train  stops  at  his  signal  and  picks  him  up.  Such  are 
the  duties  of  a  flagman,  and  it  takes  pluck  and  endurance 
to  fulfill  them. 

It  also  takes  intelligent  judgment  to  determine  prompt- 
ly under  the  four  rules,  making  sixty-eight  lines  of  the 
Code,  just  when  a  flagman  must  go  back,  how  far  he  must 
go,  and  what  he  must  do  when  he  gets  there;  yet,  under 
the  Code  and  as  generally  practiced,  this  important  service 
is  entrusted  to  a  novice,  to  an  apprentice  in  training  for 
promotion  as  conductor,  or  to  some  sturdy  brakeman,  ac- 


18  AMERICAN"   KAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

customed,  it  is  true,  to  the  hardships  of  train  service,  but 
to  successfully  avoiding  them  as  well.  Either  through 
ignorance,  or  doubt,  or  fear  of  being  left,  the  flagman  may 
linger  around  the  rear  of  the  train  until  it  is  too  late 
for  him  to  stop  a  following  train,  or  he  may  disappear  in 
the  darkness  or  Just  around  a  curve,  near  enough  to  be 
handy  when  recalled,  taking  the  chances  as  to  whether  a 
train  is  following  or  not. 

I  admit  that  a  compliance  with  the  rules  will  protect 
the  train,  but  that  compliance  rests  upon  the  intelligence 
and  devotion  of  the  flagman  himself.  That  he  is  often 
deficient  in  these  qualities  is  proven  by  too  many  rear 
collisions,  and  the  Code  rules,  and  general  practice 
as  well,  are  both  open  to  unfavorable  criticism  in  depend- 
ing for  the  successful  performance  of  an  important  duty 
upon  the  intelligence  and  devotion  of  that  man  among 
the  train  crew  who  has  the  least  experience. 

We  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  rear  collisions  can  be 
prevented  by  maintaining  a  certain  interval  of  space  or 
of  time  between  trains.  The  interval  of  space  is  positively 
insured  by  the  absolute  block  system.  The  interval  of 
time  is  insured  by  detaining  a  following  train  at  a  station 
for  a  given  time  after  the  preceding  train,  but  that  in- 
terval of  time  is  not  insured  for  any  given  distance,  as 
in  that  distance  the  preceding  train  may  stop  or  slow 
down,  and  the  prescribed  interval  of  time  be  thereby  re- 
duced, and  here  the  flagman  intervenes  to  prevent 
collisions. 

If  the  interval  of  space  can  only  be  preserved  by  the  ab- 
solute block  system,  then  until  that  system  can  be  es- 
tablished and  maintained  at  a  cost  commensurate  with 
their  income,  many  railroad  companies  must  rely  upon 
preserving  the  interval  of  time,  and  are  accordingly  in- 
terested in  any  modification  of  the  Code  rules  which  will 
better  secure  the  preservation  of  that  interval. 

In  my  opinion,  better  security  lies  in  relying  less  upon 
the  intelligence  and  the  devotion  of  the  flagman.     One 


ADDEESSES,  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".        19 

measure  which  I  would  suggest  does  not  call  for  less  in- 
telligence, rather  for  more,  but  from  another  source,  and 
that  the  engineer.  He  is  generally  the  most  intelligent 
and  experienced  man  in  the  train  crew;  the  best  acquainted 
with  the  curves,  grades,  bridges,  cuts,  embankments  and 
other  physical  characteristics  of  the  road;  the  best  in- 
formed as  to  the  trains  passed  and  to  be  met,  and  when  a 
stop  is  made  or  the  train  slows  down  at  an  unusual 
place,  he  knows  the  cause  and  what  the  probable  detention 
will  be,  not  only  after  it  occurs,  but  also  before,  and  can 
often  select  the  safest  place  for  a  stop.  It  is  he,  then, 
and  not  the  flagman,  who  should  determine  when  the  rear 
of  his  train  is  to  be  protected,  and  the  flagman  should  act 
promptly  when  the  signal  is  given  by  him,  but  not  before, 
except  in  emergencies  that  can  readily  be  'magined.  By 
inference  the  Code  gives  this  authority  to  the  conductor, 
and  by  remote  implication  to  the  engineer  as  well,  who 
often  avails  himself  of  his  privilege  to  signal  the  flagman 
to  the  rear  when  in  his  judgment  it  is  necessary,  but  pri- 
marily the  burden  is  put  upon  the  flagman  himself  to  de- 
termine when  he  shall  go  back.  I  think  that  if  the 
burden  was  plainly  put  upon  the  engineer  to  determine 
and  upon  the  flagman  to  act,  his  action  would  be  con- 
trolled by  the  most  intelligent  and  best  informed  man 
in  the  crew.  But  even  with  this  modiflcation  of  the  Code 
rules  the  interval  of  time  would  not  be  securely  preserved. 
To  secure  this  I  recommend  that  the  Code  shall  give  a 
more  extended  recognition  to  the  use  of  the  fusee,  which 
at  present  is  only  permissive  as  part  of  the  equipment  of 
the  flagman.  How  much  more  valuable  in  the  hands  of 
the  engineer  !  Whenever  he  is  about  to  stop  or  to  slow 
down  his  train  at  an  unusual  place,  require  him  to  drop 
a  lighted  ten-minute  fusee  by  the  side  of  the  track  one  mile 
before  the  stop  is  made,  and  the  interval  of  time  between 
that  train  and  one  following  is  positively  secured  by 
a  sentinel  that  will  not  desert  its  post,  by  a  signal  whose 
unmistakable  light  will  illumine  its  surroundings,  let  the 


20  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

wind  blow  and  the  rain  fall  as  they  may.  I  am  not 
speaking  hypothetically  but  from  experience,  and  my 
satisfaction  with  the  fusee  used  in  this  way  is  shared  by 
our  officials  and  employees.  Its  use  does  not  do  away 
with  the  protection  afforded  by  the  flagman,  but  rather 
increases  it,  for  as  he  crosses  a  bridge  on  his  way  to  the 
rear  he  feels  himself  secure  against  the  approaching  train 
so  long  as  he  sees  that  purple  light  blazing  between. 

If  my  views  are  correct  there  can  be  found,  at  a 
reasonable  cost,  a  better  method  of  protecting  the  rear  of 
a  train  than  that  prescribed  by  the  Code,  one  available 
by  day  as  well  as  by  night,  for,  even  then,  the  smoke  from 
the  lighted  fusee  will  attract  the  attention  of  the  following 
engineer. 

The  Committeee  on  Car  Mileage,  originally  a  special 
committee,  has,  from  the  force  of  circumstances,  become 
one  of  our  standing  committee.  Its  delay  in  attaining  re- 
sults is  an  evidence  of  the  magnitude  of  its  task  and  of 
the  difficulties  which  it  has  encountered.  The  objects 
which  it  has  in  view  are  a  more  equitable  compensation 
for  the  use  of  cars  and  greater  average  mileage,  and,  of 
the  two,  the  latter  is  of  more  importance  to  the  stock- 
holders who  own  the  cars  and  to  thoge  who  use  them. 
Consider  that  there  are  about  one  million  freight  cars  in 
use,  and  assume  that  the  average  daily  mileage  of  each  is 
about  twenty-five  miles.  If  that  average  can  be  increased 
by  five  miles,  that  means  an  increase  of  one-fifth  of  the 
total  mileage,  which  is  virtually  adding  one-fifth  to  the 
number  of  cars  in  use,  or  200,000  cars,  representing,  at 
$500  a  car,  a  capital  of  $100,000,000,  and  with  an 
average  daily  load  of  six  tons,  an  additional  capacity  of 
1,200,000  tons  per  day,  and  it  was  with  these  possibilities 
in  my  mind  that  I  said  that  a  greater  average  mileage 
is  of  more  importance  than  equitable  compensation  for  the 
use  of  cars. 

For  such  compensation  to  be  equitable  it  should  be 
based  upon  two  factors^  wear  and  use,  as  is  the  case  with 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         21 

the  so-called  mixed  system,  in  which  the  charge  for 
mileage  represents  the  wear,  and  the  per  diem  charge 
represents  the  use.  The  tendency  is  strongly  toward  the 
adoption  of  this  system,  and,  indeed,  the  opposition  to  it 
is  mainly  as  to  details,  partly  as  to  the  possibly  increased 
cost  of  obtaining  the  information  necessary  to  proper 
accounting  and  partly  a  fear  that  the  change  from  the 
straight  mileage  system  may  result  in  increased  expense 
to  those  companies  whose  own  equipment  is  not  sufficient 
for  their  business.  But  it  would  seem  that  the  cost  of 
the  mixed  system  ought  not  to  stand  in  the  way  of  its 
adoption  if  that  will  increase  the  average  mileage,  and 
any  increase  in  the  rental  balances  of  debtor  roads  can 
be  avoided  by  such  an  adjustment  of  the  two  factors  of 
mileage  and  per  diem  charges  as  will  leave  the  resulting 
sum  about  as  at  present.  If  this  is  to  be  the  result;  if 
the  debtor  companies  are  to  pay  and  the  creditor  com- 
panies to  receive  the  same  as  at  present,  then  the  advocates 
of  the  mixed  system  can  only  defend  it  by  the  assertion 
that  its  adoption  will  lead  to  a  greater  average  mileage, 
and  their  efforts  should  be  directed  to  sustaining  that 
assertion  by  facts.  It  might  simplify  the  problem  and 
hasten  its  solution  if  the  rental  of  coal  cars  and  of  some 
other  special  classes  continued  to  be  adjusted  as  at 
present. 

There  is  another  consideration  which  has  intruded  into 
our  discussions  of  this  matter,  and  that  is,  the  different 
effect  of  the  one  or  the  other  system  of  rental  upon  com- 
petitive traffic,  which  is  probably  due  to  a  confusion  of 
the  terms  demurrage  and  per  diem  charge.  Demurrage 
is  paid  by  the  consignee  to  the  delivering  road,  and  in- 
cludes not  only  a  charge  for  the  unnecessary  detention 
of  the  car,  but  also  for  the  track  space  thus  occupied,  as 
well  as  for  the  additional  switching  and  insurance  risk. 

The  per  diem  charge  is  paid  by  one  company  to  another 
for  the  use  of  its  car,  and  it  is  right  that  such  use  should 


22  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

be  paid  for,  even  though  the  former  chooses  to  give  that 
use  as  a  gratuity  to  its  customer. 

We  have  yet  a  third  standing  committee,  that  on  Safety 
Appliances,  which  has  been  constituted  so  recently  as  to 
have  had  but  little  opportunity  to  show  results.  Its  field 
is  as  extensive  as  it  is  important,  and  the  public,  as  well 
as  our  own  members,  will  await  its  conclusions  with  in- 
terested expectation.  Those  conclusions  will  not  be  of  a 
technical,  but  of  a  practical  character.  The  committee 
will  not  delve  into  the  records  of  the  Patent  Office,  nor 
will  it  require  a  laboratory  or  a  test  yard.  These  matters 
will  be  left  to  the  several  technical  associations  and  to 
the  restless  ingenuity  of  the  American  inventor.  It  is 
for  that  committee  to  determine — first,  that  there  exists 
in  some  department  of  railroad  operations  a  necessity  for 
means  of  safety  additional  to  those  in  general  use,  a 
necessity  so  extensive  or  so  urgent  as  to  call  for  united 
action  on  the  part  of  our  members;  next,  to  ascertain  what 
appliances  there  are  which  they  consider  as  suited  to 
meet  that  necessity;  or,  if  such  appliances  do  not  exist, 
then  to  state  what  the  requirements  are,  and  to  recom- 
mend that  they  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  techni- 
cal associations,  which  are  organized  and  equipped  for  the 
proper  investigation  of  such  matters. 

The  principal  aid  which  the  General  Time  Convention 
can  give  to  the  introduction  of  meritorious  safety  appli- 
ances is  to  provide  for  their  simultaneous  adoption  by 
our  members.  This  will  hasten  the  general  use  of  auto- 
matic couplers  and  continuous  brakes  on  freight  trains,  of 
improved  methods  of  lighting  and  heating  passenger  trains, 
and  of  all  devices  that  must  be  made  interchangeable 
in  order  to  be  applied  in  through  train  service  over  con- 
necting roads,  and  here  is  the  field  for  the  Committee  on 
Safety  Appliances.  In  this  field  it  will  collect  and  publish 
statistical  information  that  will  be  of  value  because  ob- 
tained at  first  hand  and  from  authoritative  sources.  In 
obtaining  this  information  the  committee  should  have  the 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".        23 

prompt  and  cordial  support  of  our  members;  its  circulars 
should  have  immediate  and  careful  attention  in  order  that 
its  reports  may  neither  be  unnecessarily  delayed  nor  based 
upon  scanty  or  erroneous  data. 

As  I  stated  in  my  opening  remarks,  the  matter  which 
serves  for  our  semi-annual  meetings  is  the  result  of  the 
assiduous  and  unselfish  labor  of  these  committees,  and  to 
them  is  due  the  gradual  transformation  of  the  General 
Time  Convention  from  a  schedule  making  body  to  an  as- 
sociation of  the  railroad  companies  of  this  country,  organ- 
ized for  mutual  benefit  in  the  development  and  solution 
of  problems  connected  with  railroad  management. 


24  AMERICAN  RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 


COST  OF  TRANSPOETATION". 

(October  14,  1891,  at  Hotel  Brunswick,  New  York.) 

Since  this  body  developed  from  a  time-table  meeting 
into  an  association  for  the  consideration  of  matters  per- 
taining to  the  operation  and  management  of  railroads, 
the  subjects  before  it  have  been  in  keeping  with  the  official 
position  and  professional  reputation  of  those  who  have 
taken  part  in  its  deliberations.  Yet  not  one  of  these  sub- 
jects is  of  such  importance  to  the  members  of  this  Associa- 
tion as  that  to  which  I  shall  call  your  attention  to-day. 

The  end  and  aim  of  a  railroad  is  Transportation.  While 
Transportation  is  its  function,  by  Transportation  it  must 
exist.  It  must  be  fed  from  its  own  products,  and  the 
charges  for  its  services  must  be  made  with  this  in  view. 
Whoever  pays  a  freight  bill  or  buys  a  passage  ticket,  con- 
tributes to  the  fund  from  which  employees'  wages  and 
bills  for  supplies  are  paid,  as  well  as  interest  coupons  and 
stock  dividends.  That  is  to  say,  the  charge  for  the  ser- 
vice is  composed  of  two  elements — the  cost  and  the  profit; 
and  the  cost  must  come  first.  Stockholders  may  go  with- 
out dividends  and  bondholders  without  interest,  but  unless 
the  men  get  their  wages  they  will  not  work,  and  supply 
men  will  not  part  with  their  goods  without  pay  for  them. 
The  substance  of  this  statement  is  that  for  a  railroad  to 
fulfill  its  purpose,  the  freight  and  passenger  tariffs,  as  a 
whole,  must  produce  a  fund  sufficient  for  the  cost  of  oper- 
ation, and  if  the  fund  be  insufficient  the  service  will  be 
unsatisfactory. 

Here  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  problem  of 
making  railroad  tariffs,  a  problem  about  which  there  has 
been  much  making  of  speeches  and  writing  of  books  by 
all  manner  of  men;  railroad  experts,  politicians  and  po- 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAK   RAILWAY   ASSOCTATTOT^.        25 

litical  economists.  We  hear  much  of  the  average  rate  per 
ton  per  mile  and  per  passenger  per  mile,  as  also  of  the 
cost  of  transportation  per  ton  mile  and  per  passenger  mile, 
all  of  which  may  have  more  or  less  value  as  information, 
though  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  its  use  in  the 
practical  operation  of  a  railroad.  It  is  well  for  the  farmer 
to  know  the  average  price  per  bushel  of  grain  and  the  cost 
per  bushel  for  its  production;  for  the  iron  master  to  know 
the  average  price  and  cost  of  production  of  a  ton  of  pig- 
iron,  or  for  the  manufacturer  to  know  the  average  price 
and  cost  of  production  of  a  yard  of  cloth.  The  bushel 
of  wheat,  the  ton  of  iron,  the  yard  of  cloth  are  units  of 
trade  by  which  the  prices  of  these  commodities  are  fixed, 
but  the  ton  mile  and  the  passenger  mile  are  statistical  ab- 
stractions and  not  the  units  by  which  the  price  of  trans- 
portation is  fixed.  How  easy  it  would  be  to  make  a  tariff 
if  all  articles  were  transported  at  a  uniform  rate  per  ton 
per  mile,  and  if  all  passengers  were  carried  at  a  uniform 
rate  per  individual  per  mile.  But  the  tariffs  in  actual  use 
are  made  up  of  separate  rates  on  different  articles,  or  on 
different  classes  of  passengers,  for  transportation  between 
many  places  for  varying  distances.  The  local  passage  rate 
per  mile  is  lost  sight  of  when  competition  or  commutation 
or  excursions  are  to  be  considered,  and  the  rate  per  ton 
mile  is  the  last  thing  thought  of  in  making  freight  tariffs. 

I  do  not  intend  to  discuss  the  making  of  rates  at  any 
greater  length.  My  purpose  in  calling  your  attention  to 
the  fallacies  involved  in  the  average  rate  and  cost  per  ton 
mile  and  per  passenger  mile  will  be  evident  as  I  proceed, 
and  you  will  pardon  me  for  repeating,  that  while  the  cost 
of  transportation  must  come  out  of  the  charge  for  trans- 
portation, that  charge  is  not  a  uniform  rate  per  ton  mile 
and  per  passenger  mile. 

What  is  the  cost  of  transportation  ?  How  is  it  to  be 
ascertained  ?  What  is  the  correct  definition  of  the  term, 
cost  of  transportation  ? 

These  are  indeed  questions  of  greater  importance  to 


26  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

the  members  of  this  association  than  any  which  have  yet 
been  before  it.  They  lie  at  the  bottom  of  most  of  the 
differences  and  dissensions  which  have  arisen  between  rail- 
road corporations  and  the  communities  which  railroad 
transportation  has  created.  The  most  ignorant  charlatan, 
the  most  rabid  demagogue,  will  speak  yon  fair  on  this 
point.  They  do  not  object  to  paying  reasonable  rates. 
But  what  goes  to  make  up  reasonable  rates  ?  Here  come 
in  the  conditions  of  long  and  short  haul,  of  competitive 
and  local  traffic,  of  ascending  and  descending  grades,  of 
cheap  or  costly  fuel  and  wages,  and  others  equally  familiar 
to  those  whose  work-day  lives  are  spent  in  their  considera- 
tion. And  considered  they  must  be  in  discussing  the  cost 
of  transportation. 

Let  us  begin  by  defining  what  we  mean  by  the  cost  of 
transportation.  Do  we  mean  the  cost  of  operation  ?  If 
we  do,  then  we  must  include  the  cost  of  administration, 
of  maintenance,  repairs,  and  renewals  generally,  as  well 
as  the  proper  cost  of  transportation.  If  this  be  not  our 
meaning,  if  we  mean  only  the  cost  of  moving  freight  and 
passengers,  then  we  must  still  ascertain  the  other  items 
which  make  up  the  cost  of  operation.  We  must  ascer- 
tain them  in  order  to  exclude  them,  and,  by  eliminating 
them  from  the  total  expense  account,  arrive  at  the  cost  of 
transportation  apart  from  the  other  classes  of  expenditure. 

What  are  these  classes  ?  We  will  classify  them  as  they 
relate  more  or  less  specifically  to  the  movement  of  freight 
or  passengers,  beginning  with  those  the  most  remote  from 
that  service,  as,  for  instance — 

Class  A. — Expenses  not  affected  by  amount  of  traffic. 

Class  B. — Expenses  indirectly  affected  by  amount  of 
traffic. 

Class  C. — Expenses  affected  by  train  mileage. 

Class  D. — Expenses  affected  by  car  mileage. 

Class  E. — Expenses  affected  by  amount  of  freight 
loaded  or  unloaded. 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN  EAlLWAY  ASSOCIATION".        27 

On  this  basis  all  items  of  expense  of  operation  can  read- 
ily be  assigned  to  their  proper  classes. 

In  class  A  would  come  the  cost  of  administration,  as 
the  salaries  and  office  expenses  of  the  general  officers,  and 
all  other  expenses  substantially  unaffected  by  the  increase 
or  decrease  of  traffic. 

In  class  B  would  be  included  those  expenses  which  are 
indirectly  affected  by  the  fluctuation  of  traffic,  as,  for  in- 
stance, certain  expenditures  in  the  roadway  department. 

In  class  C  would  appear  all  expenses  directly  affected 
by  train  mileage,  such  as  trainmen's  wages  and  expenses 
incurred  in  the  maintenance  of  locomotives. 

In  class  D  would  appear  all  expenses  directly  affected 
by  car  mileage,  by  the  maintenance  of  cars,  etc. 

In  such  a  division  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  make 
yet  another  class,  which  I  shall  call  class  E,  to  include 
expenses  directly  connected  with  the  loading  and  unload- 
ing of  freight. 

I  shall  not  refer  in  greater  detail  to  the  distribution 
among  these  several  classes  of  the  expenses  which  enter 
into  the  operation  of  a  railroad.  In  actual  practice  I  did 
this  fifteen  years  ago  with  great  minuteness,  and  have 
continued  to  observe  the  same  distribution  of  accounts. 
It  has  been  found  invaluable  in  the  discussion  of  all  ques- 
tions in  which  an  analysis  of  the  cost  of  operation  is  desir- 
able. This  collection  of  statistics  recorded  for  fifteen 
years  in  such  a  form  as  I  have  here  described  has  afforded 
the  means  for  a  critical  comparison  of  the  effects  of  im- 
proved methods  upon  the  cost  of  operation,  for  in  those 
fifteen  years  this  particular  property  has  been  brought 
from  a  very  inferior  condition  into  average  conformity 
with  modern  practice. 

This  classification  of  expenditures  was  devised  with  a 
(definite  end  in  view,  viz.:  to  ascertain  whether  we  received 
less  from  competitive  business  than  it  cost  us  to  perform 
the  service. 

For  this  purpose,  of  what  value  is  it  to  multiply  the 


28  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

weight  of  each  shipment  made  during  the  year  by  the 
number  of  miles  transported,  to  sum  up  the  results  of  these 
calculations  into  ton  miles,  to  divide  by  this  sum  the  total 
annual  expenditures  and  obtain  a  quotient  that  we  call  the 
average  cost  per  ton  mile  ?  Is  this  figure  of  six  or  seven 
mills,  or  whatever  it  is,  the  test  which  managers  are  to  ap- 
ply to  rates  on  competitive  traffic  ?  Are  they  to  withdraw 
from  competition  when  the  rate  falls  below  this  average 
for  fear  of  doing  business  at  a  loss  ?  Evidently  not,  for 
this  figure  is  but  the  average  of  a  large  number  of  trans- 
actions, many  of  which  were  done  at  a  much  lower  rate. 

Yet  this  is  just  what  it  would  be  valuable  to  us  all  to 
know.  When  shall  we  draw  out  of  competition  for  certain 
business,  because  it  would  be  a  loss  to  carry  it  ?  And  this 
is  the  information  which  I  have  sought  to  obtain. 

Confining  myself  for  the  present  to  freight  traffic,  I 
will  ask  you  to  bear  in  mind  that  each  transaction  should 
be  considered  by  itself,  that  is,  will  it  pay  us  to  take  this 
article  or  that  at  a  certain  rate  from  such  a  place  to  such 
a  place  ?  One  condition  is  that  of  quantity.  Is  it  a 
single  package,  a  car  load,  a  train  load,  or  many  train 
loads  ? 

Another  condition  is  that  of  direction.  Is  the  move- 
ment in  the  direction  in  which  the  greater  tonnage  moves 
or  in  the  opposite  direction  ''  This  determines  whether 
cars  returning  empty  can  be  used  for  the  purpose. 

I  take  this  then  as  the  simplest  form  in  which  the 
problem  can  be  presented.  If  you  have  an  empty  car  at 
Buffalo,  we  will  say,  coming  to  New  York,  what  will  it  cost 
you  to  bring  a  barrel  of  flour  in  that  car  ?  It  will  cost 
you  the  labor  of  handling  that  barrel,  of  billing  it  and  the 
insurance  of  the  common  carrier's  risk,  and  no  more.  If 
a  car  load  be  moved  under  the  same  conditions  the  items 
of  cost  are  the  same  increased  with  respect  to  labor  and 
insurance.  If  your  road  were  an  intermediate  link  in  a 
through  line,  you  would  not  even  have  incurred  the  cost 
of  billing  and  handling.     But  if  the  shipment  be  a  train 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.        29 

load,  there  is  another  condition  to  be  observed,  for  your 
engine  will  not  pull  as  many  loaded  as  empty  ears,  and 
your  locomotive  mileage  is  accordingly  increased.  From 
this  reasoning  it  appears  that  rather  than  lose  the  carriage 
of  a  single  barrel  or  of  a  car  load  of  flour  in  a  car  that 
would  otherwise  be  moved  as  an  empty  it  would  pay  you 
to  take  it  at  any  price  above  the  cost  of  handling,  billing 
and  insurance,  but  if  the  shipment  amounts  to  a  train 
load,  then  the  locomotive  mileage  becomes  an  additional 
element  of  cost.  The  conditions  change  when  competi- 
tive business  is  offered  in  the  direction  of  greatest  tonnage, 
for  here  the  carriage  calls  for  additional  car  mileage  and 
brings  in  all  the  items  of  cost  directly  affected  by  car 
mileage. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  proceed  farther  on  this  line 
of  argument  to  show  that  the  first  requisite  for  an  in- 
telligent understanding  of  these  questions  is  a  knowledge 
of  the  cost  of  car  service  and  of  train  service. 

This  is  what  you  want  to  know,  and  not  the  average 
cost  per  ton  mile.  This  is  just  the  kind  of  information 
that  we  have  been  gathering  up  on  the  road  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  how 
these  items  of  cost  have  been  affected  by  the  gradual  in- 
troduction of  engines  and  cars  of  greater  capacity,  by  the 
variation  in  wages,  by  the  development  of  telegraph  and 
station  service  and  by  other  changes  in  our  ways  of 
operation. 

Stating  the  whole  matter  briefly  and  in  a  general  way, 
railroads  are  not  built  solely  for  competitive  business — 
that  is,  to  take  away  the  business  which  another  road  is 
doing.  They  are  usually  projected  with  the  idea  of  de- 
veloping the  country  through  which  they  are  to  be  built, 
of  creating  business  by  furnishing  transportation 
facilities  without  which  such  business  could  not  exist, 
of  enabling  grain  to  be  grown  on  the  western  prairies,  or 
coal  and  ore  to  be  mined  in  the  mountain  ranges,  or  the 
trees  of  the  forest  to  be  converted  into  lumber.     These 


30  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

are  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  projected,  and  that 
they  fulfill  them  is  shown  by  the  great  anxiety  to  get  a 
railroad  built  into  a  country,  by  the  hearty  welcome  with 
which  the  first  train  is  greeted,  by  the  advance  in  value 
of  the  lands  ■  and  town  sites,  etc.  It  follows  that  those 
who  are  the  beneficiaries  of  this  investment  should  at  least 
pay  for  the  cost  of  operation  and  maintenance,  as  they 
would  have  to  do  if  the  property  were  their  own.  This  in- 
cludes the  cost  of  administration  and  all  other  expenses, 
as  well  as  those  directly  affected  by  train  service  or  what 
may  be  specifically  called  the  cost  of  transportation.  With 
reference  to  any  particular  road,  this  applies  only  to  such 
traffic  as  is  solely  dependent  upon  it,  for  if  a  certain 
locality  or  class  of  traffic  has  a  choice  between  two  or  more 
railroads,  opportunity  is  afforded  for  competition.  The 
distinction  in  this  respect  between  what  is  known  as 
the  local  and  as  the  competitive  or  through  business  is 
that  the  local  business  of  any  railroad  must  pay  sufficient 
toll  in  the  way  of  passenger  and  freight  rates  to  maintain 
that  road,  or  be  deprived  of  the  necessary  facilities  which 
it  affords,  while  the  competitive  business,  not  being  de- 
pendent on  it,  may  be  diverted,  as  interest  or  other  motive 
may  direct. 

Here  it  is  that  the  importance  arises  of  knowing  what  it 
costs  to  transport  any  specific  shipment — a  knowledge  im- 
portant to  the  local  shipper  as  well  as  to  the  railroad 
manager,  for  if  the  railroad  company  loses  the  profit  on 
competitive  business,  the  loss  must  be  made  good  from 
the  local  traffic,  at  least  to  the  extent  necessary  to  the 
efficient  maintenance  of  the  property.  If  the  farmer,  the 
miner,  the  lumberman,  the  manufacturer  solely  dependent 
upon  one  railroad  could  be  brought  to  understand  that  the 
competitive  business  is  paying  part  of  the  expenses  which 
they  and  those  similarly  situated  would  have  to  pay  al- 
together, if  that  business  were  lost  to  the  road,  they 
would  cease  to  discourse  of  the  long  and  the  short  haul 
and  of  the  average  rate  per  ton  mile;  they  would  only  en- 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.         31 

quire  as  to  the  contribution  which  that  competitive  traffic 
was  making  toward  supporting  the  road  constructed  for 
their  benefit,  and  they  would  regret  to  see  any  such  busi- 
ness lost  to  it.  The  converse  of  this  proposition  is  that 
they  are  equally  interested  in  seeing  that  this  competitive 
business  is  not  conducted  at  a  loss,  for  if  it  be,  then  the 
tolls  on  the  local  business  must  be  increased  to  make  such 
loss  good.  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  only  sound  reason 
for  the  regulation  of  railroad  rates  by  law  is  thereby  to 
protect  those  who  cannot  protect  themselves,  and  this  is 
a  case  in  point.  The  local  shipper  ought  to  be  protected 
against  contributing  to  pay  losses  on  competitive  business, 
because  he  is  in  no  position  to  make  rates  for  himself,  as 
the  competitive  shipper  is.  And  this  is  another  reason 
for  knowing  definitely  when  such  a  contribution  is  really 
made,  that  is,  for  knowing  the  actual  cost  of  performing 
any  specific  service.  With  this  idea  clearly  understood, 
the  freight  agent  could  make  competitive  rates  intelligent- 
ly upon  being  told  the  cost  of  car  and  train  service  under 
varying  conditions.  The  injunction  to  "  Get  Business  " 
would  then  be  modified  to  get  business  so  long  as  there  is 
a  profit,  and  the  traffic  and  transportation  departments 
would  be  brought  into  accord. 

Let  us  return  to  the  question  which  I  asked  some 
minutes  ago.  What  is  the  cost  of  transportation  ?  As 
I  have  now  developed  my  subject,  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation pure  and  simple,  is  made  up  of  three  elements — the 
cost  of  train  service,  of  car  service,  and  of  handling  the 
articles  shipped  or  passengers  moved.  The  test  to  be  ap- 
plied on  this  basis  to  any  statement  as  to  the  cost  of 
transportation,  with  reference  to  any  particular  trans- 
action, is  whether  that  statement  includes  any  item  which 
would  not  have  been  required  if  that  particular  service 
had  not  been  performed.  If  it  does,  then  the  statement  is 
fallacious,  misleading,  untrue  and  without  practical  value 
to  the  railroad  superintendent  or  traffic  manager.  This  is 
the  objection  to  the  ton-mile  basis.    It  is  of  no  practical 


32  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

value  to  these  officials  in  the  conduct  of  their  business,  for 
it  includes  irrelevant  items  ;  but  when  they  learn  what  it 
costs  their  company  to  bill  and  handle  freight  per  ton,  to 
run  a  train  per  mile  and  to  move  a  err  per  mile,  they 
have  just  the  information  required  to  know  how  low  they 
can  make  rates  for  competitive  business  without  paying  for 
the  privilege.  This  ignores  all  other  items  of  expense  in- 
curred in  the  operation  and  management  of  the  road,  the 
cost  of  maintenance  of  the  track,  bridges  and  buildings, 
of  salaries  and  office  expenses  of  general  officers  and  of 
similar  items.  So  it  should  so  far  as  competitive  business 
is  concerned,  for  as  a  general  ]3roposition,  these  expenses 
must  be  incurred  whether  any  particular  competitive  ship- 
ment is  made  or  not. 

But  if  the  competitive  traffic  is  not  to  be  charged  with 
these  items  of  expense,  from  what  source  are  they  to  be 
paid  ?  I  say  primarily  from  the  revenue  from  local  busi- 
ness, assisted,  as  may  be,  by  the  profit  on  competitive 
business;  or,  to  put  it  differently,  to  the  actual  cost  of 
transportation  there  should  be  added  in  making  local 
tariffs  an  amount  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  expenses  in- 
directly incurred  in  performing  the  service;  somewhat  as 
in  fixing  premiums  on  life  insurance,  the  actuary  of  an  in- 
surance company  adds  to  the  assumed  rate  of  mortality  a 
so-called  "  loading,"  to  include  the  cost  of  management 
and  of  other  corporate  expenses.  This  is  what  can  be 
done  on  a  railroad  by  such  a  classification  of  expenses  as  I 
have  suggested  and  which  I  will  now  repeat,  viz. : 

Class  A. — Expenses  not  affected  by  the  service  per- 
formed. 

Class  B. — Expenses  indirectly  affected  by  such  service. 

Class  C. — ^Expenses  affected  by  train  mileage. 

Class  D. — Expenses  affected  by  car  mileage. 

Class  E. — Expenses  affected  by  handling  freight. 

In  making  rates  on  competitive  traffic  the  last  three 
classes  of  expenditure  should  alone  be  considered.  In 
making  rates  on  local  traffic  the  first  two  classes  should 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.        33 

also  be  considered.  But  it  will  be  said  that  railroad  com- 
panies incur  large  expenditures  to  handle  competitive 
traffic  which  under  this  system  of  classification  would  be 
included  in  class  B.  This  is  true,  as  for  instance  in  the 
establishment  of  extensive  stock  yards  for  competitive 
cattle  traffic,  or  of  elevators  for  grain  traffic,  or  of  coal 
pockets  for  coal  traffic,  but  these  cases  are  the  more  readily 
provided  for  by  reason  of  this  classification,  for  if  such 
expenditures  are  not  met  as  is  generally  done,  by  specific 
terminal  charges,  they  should  be  added  as  a  "loading" 
to  the  particular  class  of  competitive  traffic  as  a  whole, 
and  would  appear  as  an  invariable  quantity  in  the  sum 
total  of  the  competitive  rate  on  cattle  or  grain  or  coal, 
and  would  not  be  a  charge  on  the  local  traffic  at  all.  So 
it  will  be  seen  that  such  a  classification  of  expenditures 
is  capable  of  application  to  varjdng  circumstances  with  a 
facility  and  precision  not  to  be  hoped  for  from  the  ton- 
mile  unit  of  cost. 

There  is  another  view  that  I  would  present  of  this  plan 
of  classification  with  reference  to  the  aid  which  it  gives 
to  the  intelligent  practice  of  economical  methods;  for, 
with  such  a  division  of  expenditures,  any  increase  or  de- 
crease in  the  gross  amount  expended  for  any  particular 
purpose  appears  just  where  it  belongs. 

Defective  wheels,  axles  and  couplers  add  to  the  cost  of 
car  mileage,  or  class  D. 

Increased  wages  of  trainmen  appear  in  the  train  mileage, 
or  class  C. 

Additional  clerk  hire  or  labor  in  handling  freight  affects 
class  E;  and  items  affecting  the  other  classes  appear  ac- 
cordingly. 

By  this  plan  any  extravagances  or  economies  are  shown 
up  in  a  practical  way  as  a  guide  or  a  warning  for  the 
future. 

The  analysis  of  expenditures  so  classified  serves  to  show 
how  expenses  incurred  for  the  greater  comfort  or  con- 
venience of  the  public  may  affect  the  cost  of  train  or  car 


34  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

service,  and  how  an  increase  in  the  wages  of  trainmen 
and  yardmen  increases  the  cost  of  train  service  which 
must  be  made  good  entirely  from  local  traffic  if  com- 
petition, as  for  grain  or  other  western  products,  is  un- 
bridled and  unrestricted. 

I  have  so  far  said  but  little  about  passenger  service, 
mainly,  because  with  most  of  us  the  freight  business  is 
more  important,  but  there  are  some  points  in  connection 
with  the  former  on  which  I  will  touch  before  I  conclude. 
I  would  wish  you  to  note  the  absurdity  of  considering 
the  passenger  mile  as  equivalent  to  the  ton  mile,  an  as- 
sumption common  to  railroad  statisticians,  and  for  which 
it  would  be  difficult  to  give  a  sensible  reason.  Even  if  a 
passenger  weighed  a  ton,  the  character  of  the  service  per- 
formed in  transporting  him  one  mile  as  compared  with 
carrying  a  ton  of  freight  that  distance  is  so  different  as 
to  make  the  assumption  of  equality  of  the  two  units  to 
border  on  the  ridiculous.  They  are  so  dissimilar  that  I 
have  kept  distinct  the  items  making  up  the  cost  of  train 
and  car  mileage  in  passenger  and  in  freight  service. 
This  is  quite  another  matter  from  the  arbitrary  division 
of  all  expenses  between  the  passenger  and  freight  traffic, 
as  insisted  upon  by  the  Government  statisticians,  for 
there  are  many  items  included  in  my  classes  A  and  B 
which  bear  no  relation  whatever  to  the  distinctive  char- 
acter of  the  traffic.  That  they  should  be  considered  in 
making  passenger  rates  as  well  as  freight  rates  is  true, 
but,  by  keeping  them  separate  from  the  actual  cost  of 
each  service,  their  amount  is  known  as  well  as  the  pro- 
portion which  they  bear  to  the  actual  cost  of  transporta- 
tion, which  is  impracticable  by  the  other  method.  We 
have  also  to  consider  that  in  class  E,  or  the  cost  of  hand- 
ling freight,  we  have  an  entire  class  of  expenses  which  has 
ncthing  to  do  with  the  cost  of  carrying  a  passenger.  In- 
deed the  passenger  handles  himself,  and  the  only  items 
bearing  directly  upon  the  transportation  of  a  single  pas-. 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         35 

senger  are  the  cost  of  printing  his  ticket,  and  perhaps  of 
handling  his  baggage,  if  he  has  any. 

In  some  respects  the  cost  of  passenger  service  differs 
materially  from  that  of  freight  service.  The  trains  are 
generally  made  up  of  a  fixed  number  of  cars  and  run  at 
stated  intervals  without  regard  to  the  number  of  passen- 
gers. The  entrance  of  a  single  additional  passenger  in 
a  train  adds  nothing  to  the  cost  of  moving  that  train, 
and  the  cost  of  transporting  a  single  passenger  is  there- 
fore inappreciable.  What  is  to  be  desired  is  to  get  the 
greatest  revenue  from  the  train  per  passenger  car,  and  it 
might  be  more  profitabb  to  secure  well  filled  trains  loaded 
to  the  engine's  capacity  than  to  insist  on  a  uniform  rate 
per  passenger  mile  which  did  not  half  fill  the  train.  The 
unit  of  cost  per  passenger  mile  is  as  fallacious  and  value- 
less as  the  unit  per  ton  mile.  A  passenger  does  not  meas- 
ure his  desire  to  get  to  a  place  by  the  number  of  miles 
that  he  must  travel  to  reach  it,  and  whether  he  goes 
fifty  or  sixty  miles,  it  costs  the  same  to  carry  him  if  the 
train  be  scheduled  for  the  longer  distance  and  there  be 
room  for  him. 

This  idea  of  rate  for  distance  does  not  prevail  in  making 
freight  rates.  What  the  freight  agent  wants  is  loaded 
cars,  and  that  is  what  should  be  sought  by  the  passenger 
agent,  who  is  himself  interested  in  knowing  what  it  costs 
to  move  a  passenger  train  and  a  passenger  car  when  he 
is  getting  up  excursion  parties  or  meeting  cut  rates  on 
business  from  a  distance. 

The  practical  value  of  the  units  of  cost  which  I  have 
recommended  may  be  briefly  illustrated  by  assuming  that 
the  cost  of  freight  train  mileage  is  20  cents  per  mile,  of 
freight  car  mileage,  2  cents  per  mile,  and  of  handling 
freight,  10  cents  per  ton. 

If  twenty  tons  of  competitive  freight  were  offered  to  be 
moved  in  cars  returning  empty,  the  actual  cost  of  trans- 
portation would  be  ten  cents  per  ton  for  handling,  or  two 
dollars  for  the  shipment.     If  a  larger  lot  were  offered 


36  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

and  the  train  of  cars  returning  empty  were  thereby  re- 
duced one-third,  the  cost  would  be  increased  by  the  ad- 
ditional train  mileage  thus  rendered  necessary.  But  tak- 
ing an  example  of  a  train  load,  say  thirty  cars  of  twenty 
tons  capacity,  offered  in  the  direction  of  greatest  tonnage, 
say  for  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles,  the  actual  cost  of 
transportation  would  be  made  up  as  follows  : 

Handling  600  tons  of  freight  at  10  cents  per  ton. .  $60  00 
Car  mileage,  30  cars  200  miles,  6,000  car  miles,  at 

2  cents 120  00 

Train  mileage,  200  miles,  at  20  cents 40  00 

Total  $220  00 

which  amounts  to  $7.33J  per  car  load  or  36J  cents  per 
ton,  and  on  this  basis  any  rate  that  could  be  got  over  these 
figures  would  be  a  profit  to  the  railroad  company  and  a 
diminution  of  the  burden  on  the  local  shippers.  How 
valuable  would  such  information  be  to  the  soliciting 
agent  !  You  could  then  trust  him  to  use  his  talents  to 
get  as  much  higher  a  rate  as  possible,  feeling  protected 
at  least  against  doing  the  business  at  a  loss. 

On  the  other  hand,  assume  the  average  cost  of  one-half 
cent  per  ton-mile  as  applied  to  this  case  and  you  would 
have  a  cost  of  $1.00  per  ton  or  $20.00  per  car  load  to  con- 
sider in  competing  for  this  shipment  in  place  of  the  actual 
cost  of  $7.33^  per  car  or  36f  cents  per  ton.  Who  ever 
heard  of  a  soliciting  agent  being  called  to  account  for 
making  rates  on  competitive  business  below  the  average 
cost  per  ton-mile  as  figured  by  the  statisticians  ? 

I  may  be  asked,  do  you  mean  to  assert  that  freight  can 
be  carried  at  the  rate  of  $7.33 J  per  car  load  for  200  miles 
without  loss  ? 

My  reply  is  that  I  am  not  speaking  of  the  entire  traffic 
of  a  road,  but  of  ascertaining  for  a  specific  transaction  the 
lowest  rate  at  which  the  service  can  be  performed  without 
actual  loss  to  the  railroad  company.     As  I  have  already 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         37 

said,  any  loss  in  competitive  business  must  be  made  good 
out  of  local  revenue,  and  it  is  therefore  to  the  interest  of 
local  shippers  to  sustain  the  efforts  of  railroad  managers 
to  maintain  rates  on  competitive  business  by  any  fair 
means;  this  would  include  the  legal  recognition  of  agree- 
ments for  pooling  revenue  from  such  business  under 
})roper  regulations. 

I  have  not  attempted  within  the  limits  proper  to  this 
address  to  cover  all  the  field  for  discussion  which  I  have 
brought  to  view,  nor  to  meet  all  the  objections  that  may  be 
offered  to  what  I  have  advanced,  but  I  have  sought  to  im- 
press upon  you  the  absurdities  of  the  ton  mile  and  the 
passenger  mile  basis  of  rates,  and  the  injustice  to 
railroad  managers  of  using  such  a  basis  for  measuring 
their  operations  and  for  criticising  their  management. 

I  have  further  sought  to  show  how  the  more  rational 
basis  which  I  have  described  may  be  made  available  for 
practicable  use  in  the  traffic  department,  and  how  it  may 
serve  as  a  common  foundation  on  which  law  makers  and 
railroad  experts  may  build  an  enduring  system  of  regu- 
lations in  which  long  and  short  haul,  just  and  unjust  dis- 
crimination, through  and  local  rates  may  all  find  an  ppro- 
priate  place. 


NIVERSIT'^ 


38  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 


SAFETY  APPLIANCES— CAE   COUPLEES. 

(April  13,  1893,  at  Hotel  Brunswick,  New  York.) 

The  public  interest  which  has  been  aroused  on  the  sub- 
ject induces  me  to  address  you  to-day  on  compulsory  legis- 
lation about  safety  appliances,  particularly  with  reference 
to  freight  car  couplers. 

The  cause  of  this  interest  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace. 
Newspaper  accounts  of  yardmen  and  brakemen  injured  in 
coupling  cars  were  emphasized  by  statistics  embodied  in 
the  official  reports  of  railroad  commissions. 

Attention  being  thus  drawn  to  this  hazardous  feature  of 
railroad  service,  the  opportunity  was  afforded  for  sen- 
sational appeals  to  the  ever-ready  sympathy  of  mankind 
for  those  who,  fathers,  brothers  and  husbands  like  them- 
selves, were  stricken  down  in  the  fulness  of  manly  vigor 
and  in  the  discharge  of  their  daily  duties.  As  is  common- 
ly the  case  when  our  feelings  are  aroused,  there  was  a  dis- 
position to  lose  sight  of  the  necessarily  dangerous  char- 
acter of  the  occupation  of  these  unfortunates,  and  of  the 
tendency  to  indifference,  carelessness,  and  even  reckless- 
ness which  seems  to  be  inseparable  from  familiarity  with 
such  dangers  and  from  dexterity  in  avoiding  them. 

The  usual  desire  under  such  circumstances  for  a  scape- 
goat was,  without  inquiry  and  without  reason,  focussed 
upon  the  inanimate  corporations  without  souls,  and  their 
animate  representatives  and  managers,  popularly  supposed 
to  be  equally  soulless.  The  asserted  greed  of  the  one  and 
indifference  of  the  other  were  held  forth  as  sufficient 
grounds  for  the  belief  that  they  could  make  it  impossible 
for  men  to  be  injured  in  coupling  if  they  would. 

This  belief,  intensified  in  various  ways  and  from  different 
motives,  has  led  not  only  to  State  legislation  but  to  the 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.        39 

elevation  of  the  question  to  national  importance,  by  rec- 
ommendations contained  in  the  President's  messages  to 
Congress  and  by  demands  on  that  body  for  compulsory 
legislation. 

This,  then,  is  the  foundation  on  which  compulsory  leg- 
islation is  demanded:  that,  in  coupling  cars,  railroad  em- 
ployees are  exposed  to  dangers  from  which  their  employers 
can  protect  them  but  will  not.  As  it  was  recently  stated 
in  a  leading  daily  of  this  city:  "  There  is  no  good  reason 
to  believe  that  the  railroads  will  soon  provide  an  adequate 
remedy  of  their  own  volition." 

The  correctness  of  this  statement  I  propose  to  test  by  a 
brief  reference  to  the  history  of  the  coupler  question,  as 
on  this  ground  alone  is  compulsory  legislation  justifiable. 

The  Master  Car  Builders'  Association,  composed  of  rail- 
road officials  in  charge  of  the  maintenance  of  freight  and 
passenger  cars,  was  organized  in  1866,  and  the  first  notice 
that  I  have  found  of  any  interest  in  this  subject  on  the 
part  of  any  public  officials,  either  State  or  corporate,  is  in 
the  proceedings  of  their  Third  Annual  Convention  in 
1889. 

At  that  Convention  Mr.  F.  D.  Adams,  now  and  for 
many  years  past  on  the  Boston  &  Albany  E.  E.,  used  the 
following  language  :  "  Many  of  our  men  employed  in 
coupling  trains  are  injured  and  lives  lost  because  draw- 
heads  do  not  come  into  line,  one  being  high  and  another 
low,  thus  driving  by  and  crushing  the  man  that  is  in  the 
performance  of  his  duty,  or  maiming  him,  frequently  for 
life. 

"  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  the  companies  that  we  represent, 
and  a  duty  that  we  owe  to  our  fellow-men,  who  are 
necessarily  placed  in  positions  that  endanger  them,  to 
adopt  some  height  that  will  be  uniform." 

You  will  see  from  this  reference  that  the  attention  of 
railroad  officials  was  first  called  to  the  varying  heights  of 
drawheads  and  couplers  as  the  cause  of  danger  and  of 
injury  to  railroad  employees. 


40  AMERICAN  EAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

At  the  next  Animal  Meeting  Mr.  Adams  was  elected 
President  and  a  committee  appointed  to  report  on  a  uni- 
form height  for  passenger  car  platforms.  At  the  meeting 
in  1871  this  height  was  fixed  at  33  inches  for  all  cars,  pas- 
senger and  freight. 

At  the  seventh  annual  meeting,  in  1873,  Mr.  M.  N.  For- 
ney, a  gentleman  well  known  to  us  all,  "  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Convention  to  the  great  number  of  accidents 
and  loss  of  life  occurring  from  the  present  method  of 
coupling  cars,"  and  '^  thought  the  Convention  should 
take  some  action  in  the  matter,  with  the  view  of  remedy- 
ing the  evil  so  far  as  it  could  be  done.  He  would,  there- 
fore, move  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  report  at  the 
next  meeting.''  Accordingly  a  committee  was  appointed 
'^  on  best  device  to  prevent  accidents  while  coupling  cars." 
This  committee  reported  at  the  meeting  in  1874  that  it 
had  sent  out  a  circuLr  to  the  railroad  companies,  and  that 
"  the  general  opinion  as  expressed  in  the  replies  received  is 
to  the  effect  that  the  variations  in  the  height  of  drawbars 
is  one  of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  accidents.  So  long 
as  persisted  in  we  do  not  think  that  any  self-coupling 
drawbar  can  have  the  benefit  of  a  fair  and  impartial  trial. 
Many  of  our  leading  roads  have  given  quite  a  number  of 
self-couplers  a  trial,  but,  judging  from  their  remarks  as  to 
how  they  answered  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  in- 
tended, it  would  seem  that  they  generally  had  failed." 

At  the  same  meeting  the  Standing  Committee  on  Draw- 
bars and  Buffers,  of  which  Mr.  F.  D.  Adams  was  Chairman, 
reported  "that  a  great  advantage  would  be  derived  from 
a  uniform  drawbar,  such  as  would  be  accepted  as  a  stand- 
ard and  which  should  also  be  a  self -coupler;  but  we  are  not 
prepared  to  say  that  any  has  as  yet  been  invented  that  is 
worthy  of  such  acceptance." 

This  report,  made  in  1874,  seems  to  be  the  earliest 
official  recognition  of  the  value  of  the  so-called  automatic 
coupler,  now  so  familiar  to  us,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
general  use  of  couplers  of  a  uniform  height  was  looked 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAK"  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.        41 

upon  as  a  condition  which  must  necessarily  precede  the 
adoption  of  a  standard  coupler,  for  the  self-coupling  prin- 
ciple to  be  made  available.  From  this  time  we  find  the 
Association  earnestly  working  to  this  end,  and  the  success 
which  it  ultimately  attained  in  establishing  a  uniform 
height  really  made  it  possible  to  use  automatic  couplers  at 
all. 

At  the  ninth  annual  meeting,  in  1875,  the  same  Stand- 
ing Committee  reported  that  it  had  "  examined  a  great 
variety  of  new  models  and  plans  which  are  claimed  by 
their  inventors  to  be  improvements,  but  have  seen  nothing 
that  meets  the  demand.  The  drawbar  should  be  a  self- 
coupler  avoiding  the  use  of  links  and  pins."  This  is  the 
first  appearance  of  a  principle  now  well  established  in  our 
minds.  The  report  further  shows  that  the  committee 
were  actively  engaged  in  the  search  for  a  suitable  standard 
coupler.  The  motive  which  actuated  them  was  well  ex- 
pressed, by  Mr.  Hopkins  of  the  New  York  &  New  Jersey 
E.  E.  :  "  This  Association  is  in  duty  bound  to  furnish 
some  device  that  shall  save  the  great  number  of  lives  an- 
aually  sacrificed  by  the  coupling  of  cars." 

At  the  eleventh  annual  meeting,  in  1877,  Mr.  Kirby,  of 
the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  E.  E.,  said  that  his 
company  intended  to  equip  one  hundred  cars  with  self- 
couplers. 

The  President,  Mr.  Garey,  of  the  New  York  Central  & 
Hudson  Eiver  E.  E.,  stated  that  he  had  been  waited  on 
by  a  committee  of  yardmasters.  They  said  :  "  We  don't 
care  anything  about  self -couplers,  but  only  give  us  some- 
thing, so  that  we  can  be  sure  that  we  won't  be  crushed  in 
getting  between  the  cars.  Give  us  deadwoods  right  over 
the  drawbar."  Mr.  Adams  said  :  "  I  firmly  believe  we 
are  in  duty  bound,  as  an  Association,  to  listen  to  the  ap- 
peals of  these  men." 

This  appeal  from  the  yardmasters  turned  the  attention 
of  the  Association  to  the  proper  dimensions  and  location 
of  deadwoods,  notwithstanding  the  assertion  of  Mr.  Suth- 


42  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

erland,  of  the  Canada  Southern  R.  R.,  that  "  few  railroad 
companies  would  be  satisfied  with  anything  short  of  an 
improvement  that  would  entirely  dispense  with  links  and 
pins,  so  that  the  men  can  keep  entirely  from  between  the 
cars." 

I  call  your  attention  particularly  to  this  remark,  as  the 
first  official  enunciation  of  the  fact,  simple  as  it  is,  which 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  discussion  of  the 
coupler  question  from  a  humanitarian  standpoint. 

At  the  twelfth  annual  meeting,  in  1878,  a  committee 
was  appointed  "to  investigate  the  causes  of  accidents  to 
trainmen  and  report  what  means  can  be  provided  to  pro- 
tect train  and  yardmen  from  injury  while  in  the  perform- 
ance of  their  duties,"  and  the  Yardmasters'  Association 
was  invited  to  communicate  with  the  committee. 

At  this  meeting  Mr.  Griffiths,  in  reporting  on  self -coup- 
lers, stated  a  fact  with  which  we  subsequently  became  very 
familiar,  that  there  were  so  many  of  them  "  and  when 
they  come  together  they  don't  operate." 

At  the  thirteenth  meeting,  in  1879,  President  Garey 
referred  in  his  address  to  this  subject  as  deserving  special 
attention,  and  the  committee  reported,  as  the  result  of  one 
hundred  inquiries,  that  the  yardmasters  considered  the 
variation  in  height  of  drawbars  and  the  deadwoods  on 
each  side  of  them  as  common  causes  of  injury. 

At  the  fifteenth  meeting,  in  1881,  President  Garey  in 
his  address  again  called  attention  to  this  subject,  saying  : 
"  The  present  defective  and  expensive  devices  for  coupling 
freight  cars  have  been  in  use  for  many  years  without  any 
marked  improvement  upon  the  old  link  and  pin  system  ; 
none  have  sufficient  advantages  to  place  them  in  general 
use.  The  necessity  for  improvement  in  this  direction  is 
of  so  much  importance  that  our  legislators  have  been 
called  upon  to  investigate  the  matter.  Wherever  it  has 
been  shown  that  railroad  companies  could  better  protect 
the  lives  of  passengers  or  employees  by  the  use  of  practical 
improvements  there  has  been  no  necessity  for  legislative 


ADDRESSES,  AMERlCAi^    RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.        43 

or  any  other  pressure,  other  than  the  plain  facts,  to  place 
such  improvements  in  use." 

It  appears  from  this  that  in  1881,  eleven  years  ago,  the 
matter  had  begun  to  attract  the  attention  of  legislators, 
taking  the  usual  form  of  a  proposed  investigation,  and 
that  President  Garey,  in  noting  this  new  phase  of  the 
question,  disposed  of  it  in  fitting  language.  Again,  in 
1882,  he  said  :  "  If  an  automatic  coupler,  or  one  sufficient- 
ly so  to  prevent  the  necessity  of  trainmen  standing  between 
cars  while  in  the  act  of  coupling,  could  be  put  in  general 
use,  with  a  simple  and  efficient  trainbrake  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  engineer,  and  arranged  so  that  it  could  be  ap- 
plied from  any  part  of  the  train,  they  would  remove  many 
of  the  sources  of  accidents  to  men  while  handling  cars." 

At  the  same  meeting  the  Committee  on  Causes  of  Ac- 
cidents to  Train  and  Yardmen  reported  that  they  "  had 
not  as  yet  seen  an  automatic  coupler  that  they  would  feel 
justified  in  recommending  to  the  Association." 

At  this  point  let  us  stop  in  our  researches  into  what 
the  railroads  had  been  doing  towards  the  adoption  of  a 
safety  coupler  and  see  what  action  had  been  taken  officially 
by  railroad  commissions  and  by  legislation. 

On  March  19,  1880,  eleven  years  after  the  matter  had 
first  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Master  Car 
Builders'  Association,  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  in- 
structed the  Board  of  Eailroad  Commissioners  to  investi- 
gate and  report  upon  the  subject  of  freight  drawbars  and 
couplers.  Before  referring  to  that  report  let  us  re-state 
briefly  what  the  railroad  companies  had  done. 

At  the  third  meeting  of  the  Association,  in  1869,  Mr. 
Adams  had  recommended  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  height 
of  coupler  as  a  protection  to  the  lives  of  railroad  em- 
ployees. At  the  next  meeting  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  report  upon  it,  and  in  1871  a  standard  height  was 
adopted.  Thus  was  the  first  step  taken  in  the  evolution 
of  the  safety  coupler  by  the  railroad  companies  themselves 
and  at  the  instance  of  a  railroad  official.     At  the  meeting 


44  AMEtllCAl^   RAILWAY  MAltAGEMENT. 

in  1873  a  committee  reported  upon  the  desirability  of 
adopting  a  standard  self-coupler,  if  one  could  be  found 
worthy  of  acceptance.  In  1875  the  same  committee,  after 
examining  a  great  number  of  models,  could  find  nothing 
that  would  meet  the  demand,  and  declared  that  the  stand- 
ard self-coupler  should  avoid  the  use  of  links  and  pins. 
In  1877  we  find  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  R. 
R.  Co.  experimenting  with  safety  couplers  on  a  hundred 
cars,  and  in  the  same  year  a  committee  of  yardmasters  de- 
claring to  the  President  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  As- 
sociation that  they  did  not  care  anything  about  self-coup- 
lers, that  they  wanted  something  to  prevent  them  from 
being  crushed  between  the  cars — and  accordingly  the  at- 
tention of  the  Association  was  directed  for  some  years 
from  self-couplers  to  deadwoods,  apparently  in  response 
to  suggestions  from  the  yardmen — for,  as  Mr.  Adams  said, 
the  Association  felt  in  duty  bound  to  listen  to  the  appeals 
of  these  men.  In  1878  the  Association  extended  an  in- 
vitation to  the  Yardmasters'  Association  to  act  in  concert 
with  their  committee,  which  was  to  report  upon  the  means 
for  protecting  train  and  yardmen  from  injury  while  in 
the  performance  of  their  duties,  and  at  that  very  meeting 
the  attention  of  the  Association  was  called  to  the  impor- 
tance of  having  the  several  patterns  of  self -couplers  to  be 
so  designed  as  to  couple  interchangeably.  In  1881  the 
President  of  the  Association  asserted  that  none  of  these 
new  inventions  had  sufficient  advantages  to  place  them 
in  general  use. 

This,  then,  was  the  advance  made  in  the  search  for  a 
self -coupler  at  the  time  that  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
called  upon  the  Board  of  Railroad  Commissioners  to  in- 
vestigate the  subject.  Does  this  statement  of  facts  bear 
out  the  charge  made  against  the  railroad  companies  that 
"  There  is  no  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  railroads 
will  soon  provide  an  adequate  remedy  of  their  own 
volition "  ?  For  eleven  years  they  had  been  earnestly 
seeking  for  an  adequate  remedy.     They  had  made  a  stand- 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.        45 

ard  height  for  couplers,  that  the  safety  coupler  might  be 
made  available.  They  had  laid  down  the  principle  that 
all  safety  couplers  must  be  without  links  and  pins  and 
couple  interchangeably,  and  had  been  experimenting  with 
the  couplers  presented  to  them  for  trial  without  being 
able  to  endorse  any  of  them.  What  more  could  the  rail- 
road companies  have  done  ?  What  more  had  anyone  else 
done  during  these  eleven  years  up  to  the  time  that  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  called  for  a  report  from  their 
Board  of  Eailroad  Commissioners  ?  And  what  did  the 
Commissioners  report  ?  They  said  that  they  could  not 
report  satisfactorily  on  models,  or  even  on  trial  tests — 
that  the  only  valuable  test  was  "  by  continued  use  in  the 
actual  course  of  traffic."  They  said  that  they  would  pre- 
fer to  be  guided  by  the  action  of  railroad  corporations; 
that  "when  fifty  or  more  of  such  corporations  adopt  an 
automatic  coupler,  not  as  an  experiment  but  as  a  standard, 
they  do  so  in  spite  of  the  increased  cost  and  trouble,  and 
in  spite  of  the  natural  prejudice  against  any  new  device. 
When,  having  tried  such  a  device  for  a  long  time  as  an  ex- 
periment, railroad  managers  ore""  "  its  unive-:sal  use  upon 
their  roads,  they  give  the  strongest  testimony  possible  in 
its  favor.  In  justice  to  railroad  managers,  it  ought  to  be 
added  that  their  backwardness  in  this  matter  is  partly 
owing  to  the  fact  that,  in  the  belief  of  'uany,  no  perfect 
device  for  self-coupling  has  yet  been  found,  and  still  more 
that,  in  their  opinion,  most  of  the  accidents  are  owing  to 
the  recklessness  of  brakemen  and  might  be  easily  avoided. 
They  cite  instances  where  wooden  and  iron  rods  have  been 
provided  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  going  between  freight 
cars,  and  where  brakemen  have  declined  to  use  them  s^d 
have  looked  upon  their  use  as  cowardice.  There  is  much 
truth  in  these  statements "  ;  and,  after  saying  this,  the 
report  recommended  a  bill  requiring  the  use  of  the  Saf- 
ford  drawbar  "  or  some  other  automatic  coupler."  In 
1882  the  Connecticut  Commissioners  recommended  that 
the  Legislature  should  require  new  cars  to  be  equipped 
with   automatic    couplers.     In    1883    the    Massachusetts 


46  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

Commissioners  hoped  that  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Con- 
vention would  agree  on  some  standard  freight  car  coupler. 
In  1884  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  passed  an  Act  re- 
quiring that  freight  cars  thereafter  constructed  or  pur- 
chased, or  when  a  coupler  was  repaired,  there  should  be 
placed  on  them  "  such  form  or  forms  of  automatic  or  other 
safety  couplers  as  the  Board  of  Eailroad  Commissioners 
may  prescribe  after  examination  and  test  of  the  same,  to 
take  full  effect  on  March  1st,  1885."  On  September  25th, 
1884,  the  Board  of  Commissioners  undertook  to  solve  the 
problem.  Just  before  that  date,  the  Committee  on  Auto- 
matic Freight  Car  Couplers  had  reported  to  the  Master 
Car  Builders'  Association  advising  that  a  committee  of 
experts  be  appointed  to  be  present  at  any  trial  of  couplers, 
and  noted  as  worthy  of  special  mention  certain  drawbars, 
as  follows  :  Archer's,  Cowell's,  United  States,  Janney's, 
Ames',  Mitchell's,  Wilson  &  Walker's,  and  the  Conway  Ball 
Coupler.  In  the  discussion  that  followed  Mr.  Wilder,  of 
the  New  York,  Lake  Erie  &  Western  R.  E.,  said  :  "  If  the 
railroads  of  this  country  saw  fit  in  their  freight  car  service  to 
apply  the  Janney  Coupler,  the  same  as  on  the  passenger 
cars,  to  all  their  freight  cars,  or  the  Miller  hook,  it 
would  probably  be  a  good  thing  to  do."  Mr.  Wall,  of  the 
Pittsburg,  Cincinnati  &  St.  Louis  E.  E.,  said:  "  In  order  to 
bring  this  matter  to  an  issue  before  this  meeting,  I  would 
like  to  submit  a  motion  that  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Conven- 
tion that  any  automatic  coupler  presented  here  should 
couple  in  a  vertical  plane."  After  a  long  discussion,  the 
meeting  adopted  the  following  resolution  :  "  That  the 
Executive  Committee  be  instructed  to  issue  a  circular  to 
all  the  railroad  companies  represented  in  this  Association, 
setting  forth  our  plan  of  retaining  Mr.  M.  N.  Forney  to 
devise,  conduct  and  record  tests  of  automatic  freight  car 
couplers,  and  asking  them  to  signify  their  willingness  to 
sustain  their  pro-rata  proportion  of  all  expenses  incident 
to  such  tests." 

With  this  action  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Association 
before  them^  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners  undertook, 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         47 

as  I  have  said,  to  solve  the  car  coupler  problem  themselves. 
They  announced  that  they  would  "  not  order  the  use  of 
any  coupler  which  had  not  been  tested  in  actual  traffic;  and 
this  rule  was  founded  on  the  well-known  fact  that  no 
expert,  however  able,  can  judge  of  the  actual  working  of 
a  device  merely  from  the  inspection  of  a  model,  and  the 
man  who  announces  that  he  can  confidently  pronounce 
upon  the  value  of  such  a  railroad  invention  without  actual 
tests,  contradicts  all  experience  and  shows  himself  unfit 
to  be  heard  upon  the  question.  It  is  impossible  to  foretell 
the  safe  working  of  any  such  device  until  it  has  been  tried, 
and  it  would  be  a  scandal  to  ^  prescribe '  the  use  of  any 
coupler  whose  safety  has  not  been  shown  by  actual  test." 

Notwithstanding  the  views  announced  by  the  Commis- 
sion, they  did  "  prescribe"  five  different  couplers  that 
would  not  couple  with  each  other.  The  railroad  com- 
panies in  the  State  were  notified  that  by  March  1st,  1885, 
all  new  cars  and  all  cars  upon  which  new  couplers  were 
put  should  be  provided  with  some  form  of  the  couplers  so 
prescribed.  Yet,  in  July,  1888,  this  Commission  reported 
that  only  5,000  of  those  "  prescribed  "  couplers  had  been 
so  applied. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Master  Car 
Builders'  Association.  The  Executive  Committee  pro- 
vided for  a  public  trial  of  automatic  freight  car  couplers 
at  Buffalo,  on  Sept.  15th,  1885.  Forty-two  were  subjected 
to  the  required  tests,  and  from  this  number  twelve  were 
recommended  for  further  trial  in  actual  service. 

In  July,  1886,  and  in  May,  1887,  the  Association  under- 
took a  series  of  competitive  tests  of  power  brakes  on  freight 
trains,  and  as  a  result  of  these  tests  it  was  clearly  shown 
that  link  and  pin  couplers  could  not  be  used  on  a  freight 
train  equipped  with  power  brakes;  so  it  may  be  asserted 
that  it  was  not  until  1887  that  the  idea  of  an  automatic  link 
and  pin  coupler  passed  definitely  out  of  the  minds  of 
practical  men. 

At    the    twenty-first    annual    meeting,    in    1887,    the 


48  AMERICAN   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

Executive  Committee  reported  ^^that  this  Association 
recommend  as  a  standard  form  of  coupling  the  Janney 
type  of  coupler;  that  the  Association  procure  one  of  the 
present  make  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose, 
and  then  all  other  forms  of  couplers  that  will  automatically 
couple  to  and  with  this  coupler  under  all  conditions  of 
service  are  to  be  considered  as  within  the  Janney  type  and 
conforming  to  the  standard  of  this  Association.  We  be- 
lieve that  the  office  of  this  Association  and  of  its  members 
is  with  the  mechanical  part  of  railroading,  and  that  what 
our  railroads  want  and  look  to  us  for  is  a  statement  of 
what  type  of  coupler  best  fulfils  the  mechanical  condition 
of  a  perfect  train  connection.  When  we  have  done  this 
we  have  performed  our  duty,  and  to  our  superior  officers 
belongs  the  question  of  negotiation  for  the  use  of  the 
couplers." 

The  report  was  adopted,  and  it  was  determined  to  de- 
cide by  letter-ballot  as  to  the  adoption  of  the  Janney  type 
of  coupler  as  a  standard. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  in  1888,  the  result  of  the  ballot 
was  announced  as  474  in  favor  of  and  194  against  the 
adoption  of  the  Janney  type.  It  was  further  announced 
that  the  Executive  Committee  had  undertaken  to  establish 
"  the  contour  lines  of  this  type,  and  the  preparation  of 
drawings  and  templets  which  would  definitely  determine 
and  exhibit  the  standard  of  the  Association." 

In  the  performance  of  this  duty,  the  committee  discov- 
ered that  the  contour  lines  of  the  Janney  type  were,  cov- 
ered by  patents  belonging  to  the  Janney  Car  Coupling  Co., 
and  on  June  17th,  1888,  that  company  agreed  "  to  waive  all 
claims  for  patents  on  contour  lines  of  coupling  surfaces 
of  car  couplers  used  on  railroads,  members  of  the  M.  C.  B. 
Association."  This  waiver  was  formally  executed  in  April, 
1888,  as  applicable  to  freight  car  couplers. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  it  was  not  until  1887 
that  the  fact  was  established  that  link  and  pin  couplers 
and  power  brakes  could  not  be  used  together  on  the  same 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION-.         49 

freight  train,  with  power  brakes  ;  and  that  it  was  not 
until  1888,  just  four  years  ago,  that  the  essential 
principle  of  the  vertical  hook-coupler,  which  years  of 
experiment  had  established  as  the  only  type  practicable 
for  a  safety  car  coupler,  was  made  generally  available 
by  the  generous  action  of  the  Janney  Car  Coupling 
Company,  With  these  points  secured,  the  road  was 
made  plain  to  the  successful  attainment  of  the  result 
for  which  the  Master  Car  Builders  had  striven  for  twenty 
years.  What  followed  was  mainly  the  filling-in  of  the  de- 
tails of  the  general  plan.  As  the  committee  said,  "  The 
standard  of  the  Association  is,  therefore,  with  the  publi- 
cation of  these  lines,  definitely  fixed;  and  it  is  in  the  power 
of  any  inventor  or  manufacturer  of  couplers,  now  or  here- 
after, to  determine  for  himself  whether  his  coupler  will 
automatically  couple  to  and  with  this  standard,  under  all 
conditions  of  service.  Invention  can  now  be  directed  to 
improvements  in  detailed  mechanism,  in  strengthening 
parts,  and  devising  means  for  the  protection  of  the  coup- 
lers against  the  shocks  and  strains  of  service.''  This  is 
the  history  of  the  evolution  of  the  type  of  safety  coupler 
which,  at  the  meeting  in  1888,  was  first  called  the  Master 
Car  Builders'  Type.  Well  is  that  association  of  earnest 
railroad  officials  entitled  to  connect  its  name  with  this  ex- 
cellent work  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  well  may  I 
add  that  this  is  their  answer  to  the  charge  made  at  this 
late  date  that  "  There  is  no  good  reason  to  believe  that  the 
railroads  will  soon  provide  an  adequate  remedy  of  their 
own  volition." 

But,  as  I  have  said,  there  were  still  details  to  be  filled  in 
after  the  general  plan  was  adopted;  details  relating  to 
certain  dimensions  of  the  coupler  and  to  its  proper  loca- 
tion with  respect  to  the  end-sill — minor  matters,  it  is  true, 
but  which  were  to  be  definitely  decided,  one  way  or  an- 
other, if  every  coupler  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  type 
was  to  couple  with  every  other  coupler  of  the  same  type, 
never  mind  who  invented  it  or  who  made  it;  and  to  in- 
sure their  final  recognition  by  letter-ballot,  the  matter  was 


50  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

carried  over  to  1889,  when  the  coupler  recommended  by 
the  Executive  Committee  was  formally  adopted,  in  all  re- 
spects, as  the  standard  coupler  of  the  Association.  But, 
as  the  Executive  Committee  stated  at  the  meeting  in  1887, 
"  the  office  of  the  Association  and  its  members  is  with 
the  mechanical  part  of  railroading,  and  what  our  railroads 
want  and  look  to  us  for  is  a  statement  of  what  type  of 
coupler  best  fulfills  the  mechanical  condition  of  a  perfect 
train  connection.  When  we  have  done  this  we  have  per- 
formed our  duty,  and  to  our  superior  officers  belongs  the 
question  of  negotiation  for  the  use  of  these  couplers/^ 

Some  organized  action  was  therefore  requisite  on  the 
part  of  the  managing  officers  of  the  railroad  companies  to 
make  effective  the  action  of  the  Master  Car  Builders  at 
their  meeting  in  1889.  This  was  sought  to  be  accom- 
plished through  this  Association.  At  our  semi-annual 
meeting  in  April,  1890,  I  called  this  matter  to  your  atten- 
tion, using  the  following  language  :  "  There  are  improve- 
ments in  m.ethods  and  appliances  now  passing  from  the 
experimental  stage,  in  which  they  are  properly  the  sub- 
jects for  consideration  in  technical  associations,  to  the 
stage  in  which  the  responsible  management  of  our  railroad 
systems  must  decide  whether  they  will  recognize  them  as 
sufficiently  valuable  for  general  adoption."  At  the  same 
meeting  the  Standing  Committee  on  Safety  Appliances, 
in  its  report  on  this  and  kindred  subjects,  said  :  "  Al- 
though the  Committee  is  not  now  ready  to  recommend 
action  by  this  Convention,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
none  will  at  any  time  be  suggested.  It  hopes,  on  the  con- 
trary, to  be  able  to  present  more  definite  views  at  your 
fall  meeting."  At  that  meeting  the  Committee  recom- 
mended to  the  Convention  the  adoption  of  the  Master 
Car  Builders'  Type  of  Automatic  Freight  Car  Coupler  as 
the  standard  of  its  members.  Mr.  Voorhees,  Gen.  Supt., 
New  York  Central  &  Hudson  Eiver  E.  R.,  moved  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  report  and  called  for  a  vote  by  companies. 
Out  of  fifty  companies  voting,  there  were  but  two  that 


ADDRESSES,   AMERICAN"   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".        51 

dissented;  and  it  may  be  said  that  in  October,  1890,  the 
Master  Car  Builders'  Freight  Car  Coupler  was  recognized 
by  the  railroad  companies  of  this  country  as  the  standard 
coupler,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  this  to  be  done  by 
their  organized  action. 

Let  us  now  see  what  had  resulted  from  the  action  of  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  in  1884,  which  provided  that  by 
March  1,  1885,  the  railroad  companies  in  the  State  should 
have  equipped  their  freight  cars  with  such  forms  of  safety 
couplers  as  the  Eailroad  Commissioners  might  prescribe. 
In  September,  1884,  the  Board  prescribed  eight  different 
kinds  of  couplers.  In  January,  1888,  the  Board  reported 
that  only  2,500  cars  had  been  so  equipped.  In  January, 
1891,  the  Board  reported  that  it  had  "  in  contemplation 
action  looking  to  a  revocation  of  some  of  the  approvals 
heretofore  issued,"  and  that  it  had  generally  approved  of 
all  couplers  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Type. 

This  was  virtually  a  confession  of  the  failure  of  the  com- 
pulsory legislation  of  1884  to  accomplish  anything  in 
nearly  seven  years,  and  an  acknowledgment  that  all  which 
had  been  accomplished  up  to  January,  1891,  was  the  work 
of  the  master  car  builders  of  the  railroad  companies.  Still 
Massachusetts  did  not  lose  faith  in  compulsory  legislation 
on  safety  appliances,  for  in  1890  its  legislature  passed  a 
resolution  urging  upon  Congress  to  instruct  the  Inter- 
State  Commerce .  Commission  to  recommend  the  railroad 
companies  to  take  some  action  in  this  matter  and  to  sug- 
gest such  legislation  as  might  seem  necessary  or  expedient. 
The  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission  called  a  conven- 
tion of  the  State  Eailroad  Commissioners,  which  in  May, 
1890,  resolved  that  the  State  Legislatures  should  require 
freight  cars  to  be  equipped  with  "  an  automatic  coupler  of 
the  Master  Car  Builders'  type,"  and  recommended  Con- 
gress to  take  similar  action. 

In  the  same  month  the  Eailroad  Commissioners  of 
Michigan  withdrew  the  approval  given  in  1886  to  seven 
different  kinds  of  safety  couplers,  and  authorized  the  use 


52  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY   MA:N^AGEMENT. 

of  "  Janney,  Dowling,  Gould,  Hinson  and  other  couplers 
of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  type/' 

The  action  of  the  State  Legislatures  and  of  the  railroad 
commissions  induced  the  President  to  refer  to  this  subject 
in  his  message  to  Congress  of  December,  1890,  in  the  fol- 
lowing language  :  "  It  may  still  be  possible  for  this  Con- 
gress to  inaugurate,  by  suitable  legislation,  an  amendment 
looking  to  uniformity  and  increased  safety  in  the  use  of 
couplers  and  brakes  upon  freight  trains  engaged  in  inter- 
state commerce.  The  chief  difficulty  in  the  way  is  to  se- 
cure agreement  as  to  the  best  appliances, — simplicity,  ef- 
fectiyeness  and  cost  being  considered.  This  difficulty  will 
only  yield  to  legislation  which  should  be  based  upon  full 
inquiry  and  impartial  tests.  The  purpose  should  be  to 
secure  the  co-operation  of  all  well-disposed  managers  and 
owners;  but  the  fearful  fact  that  every  year's  delay  involves 
the  sacrifice  of  2,000  lives  and  the  maiming  of  20,000 
young  men  should  plead  both  with  Congress  and  the 
managers  against  any  needless  delay." 

The  report  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission  for 
the  year  ending  June,  1890,  gives  369  killed  and  7,482  in- 
jured in  coupling  cars  ;  but,  accepting  the  President's 
figures  as  correct,  it  is  disheartening  to  feel  that  our  de- 
liberate, organized  action  of  October,  1890,  should  not 
have  been  recognized,  although  it  was  directly  in  line  with 
his  recommendation  of  December  of  the  "same  year.  The 
President  stated  the  difficulty  in  the  way  of  uniformity  to 
be  that  of  securing  agreement  as  to  the  best  devices.  He 
says  that  this  difficulty  will  only  yield  to  legislation  which 
should  be  based  upon  full  inquiry  and  impartial  tests,  and 
pleads  for  the  co-operation  of  all  well-disposed  managers 
and  owners — co-operation  which  had  been  publicly,  of- 
ficially and  efficiently  given  two  months  before  the  date  of 
his  message  to  Congress. 

In  March,  1891,  there  was  another  meeting  of  the  State 
Eailroad  Commissioners  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Inter-State  Commerce  Commission,  at  which  a  committee 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOClATlOlT.        53 

was  appointed  to  present  a  bill  to  Congress  for  hastening 
and  insuring  the  equipment  of  freight  cars  with  uniform 
automatic  couplers,  and,  before  presenting  a  bill,  "  to  give 
a  hearing  to  accredited  representatives  of  such  organizations 
of  railroad  officials  or  employees  as  may  desire  to  be  heard." 
In  response  to  the  circular  notice  as  above,  dated  May  22d, 
your  Executive  Committee,  at  the  time  representing  over 
122,000  miles  of  railroad,  signified  its  desire  to  act  in  har- 
mony with  the  National  Convention  of  Eailroad  Commis- 
sioners, and  suggested  a  conference  in  time  to  properly 
present  the  whole  subject  at  our  October  meting.  Noth- 
ing came  of  this  proposition,  and  the  Committee  of  Eail- 
road Commissioners  gave  the  promised  hearing  in  this  city 
on  Nov.  10th,  1891,  at  which  your  Executive  Committee 
and  Committee  on  Safety  Appliances  were  present,  as  also 
a  committee  from  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Association,  to 
inform  the  Committee  as  to  the  action  already  taken  by  our 
associations  and  to  express  an  opinion  adverse  to  the 
necessity  for  compulsory  legislation.  We  heard  nothing 
as  to  the  results  of  this  hearing,  except  that  the  Committee 
had  been  unable  to  agree  upon  a  bill,  a  report  which  we 
found  to  be  true  when  we  were  invited  to  another  hearing 
by  the  same  Committee  held  in  Washington  on  Feb.  14th. 
It  was  made  evident  at  that  meeting  that  the  Committee 
could  not  agree  upon  a  bill  to  be  presented  to  Congress, 
and  at  the  hearings  which  followed  during  the  next  two 
days  before  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Committees  of  both 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives  this  Committee 
failed  to  appear,  though  some  of  its  members  presented 
their  individual  opinions. 

This  is  a  brief  but  correct  outline  of  the  history  of  the 
action  on  safety  appliances  by  railroad  organizations,  by 
State  Legislatures  and  by  State  Commissioners  up  to  the 
present  time,  and  I  think  that  you  will  agree  with  me  in 
the  opinion  that  the  railroad  companies  have  no  reason 
\o  be  ashamed  of  their  record.  We  are  now  facing  the 
possibility  of  immediate  legislation  of  a  compulsory  char- 


54  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMENT. 

acter,  insisted  upon  as  an  urgent  matter  of  national  im- 
portance, and  also  the  probability  that,  in  its  eagerness  to 
respond  to  the  appeal  for  protection  to  railroad  employees. 
Congress  will  act  without  sufficient  knowledge  as  to  what 
has  been  done  and  without  a  proper  appreciation  of  the 
unfavorable  effect  which  injudicious  legislation  will  have 
upon  the  very  cause  in  which  we  are  interested  equally 
with  the  employees  who  are  to  be  protected.  This  will 
undoubtedly  be  the  case  if  the  principles  should  prevail 
which  are  embodied  in  some  of  the  numerous  bills  now 
under  consideration  by  congressional  committees. 

These  bills  generally  provide  for  compulsory  legislation 
of  a  penal  character,  intended  to  insure  the  general 
adoption  by  railroad  companies,  within  a  given  time,  of 
some  form  of  safety  coupler  for  freight  cars.  The  dif- 
ficulty in  the  way  of  prescribing  the  form  of  safety  coupler 
with  that  exactness  necessary  to  make  a  penal  statute  ef- 
fective is  said  to  have  prevented  the  Committee  of  Eail- 
road  Commissioners  from  agreeing  upon  a  bill,  and  the 
same  difficulty  has  evidently  been  experienced  in  framing 
the  bills  now  before  the  congressional  committees.  This 
difficulty  it  has  been  sought  to  avoid  in  various  ways  ;  in 
some  of  them  by  a  vote  of  "  members  of  established  and 
recognized  organizations  of  railroad  employees  "  for  the 
most  popular  safety  coupler,  just  as  they  might  vote  for 
the  most  popular  conductor  or  superintendent.  In  other 
of  the  bills  resort  is  had  to  commissioners,  who,  at  the 
public  expense,  are  to  either  select  a  coupler  already 
patented  or  to  devise  one  themselves.  The  more  or  less  re- 
mote possibilities  with  such  a  commission  are  enough  to 
make  such  a  position  more  desirable  than  any  other  that 
Congress  or  the  President  could  bestow.  In  one  or  two 
of  these  bills  there  is  a  recognition  of  the  existence  of  the 
Master  Car  Builders'  type  and  the  evidence  of  an  earnest 
desire  to  bring  about  in  the  interest  of  humanity  the  early 
and  general  adoption  of  that  type  of  coupler.  For  the 
spirit  evinced  in  such  bills  we  should  all  have  profound 


ADDRESSES,  iMfiRtCAiT  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.        55 

respect,  even  though  we  should  be  skeptical  as  to  the  re- 
sults. 

The  choice  of  a  standard  coupler  by  popular  vote  of 
railroad  employees  recommends  itself,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  to  those,  even,  who  look  for  political  preferment 
through  the  support  of  labor  organizations,  but  to  others 
it  really  seems  as  the  obvious  way  of  arriving  at  a  correct 
conclusion.  To  those  who  sincerely  hold  this  opinion  we 
may  say  that  the  brakemen  and  switchmen  are  no  more 
called  on  to  be  acquainted  with  the  proper  dimensions 
and  internal  locking  devices  of  a  vertical  hook  coupler 
than  with  the  dimensions  and  internal  mechanism  of  the 
watches  which  they  carry.  They  have  only  to  manipulate 
the  release  rod  of  the  one  as  they  have  to  wind  the  key  or 
winding  stem  of  the  other.  That  is  all  they  need  to  know 
about  either,  and  it  is  about  all  that  many  of  them  ever 
will  know  about  a  vertical  hook  coupler.  Is  it  to  be  held 
that  a  matter  which  has  demanded  the  time  and  thought 
of  mechanical  experts  for  twenty  years  in  the  evolution  of 
the  Master  Car  Builders'  type  is  to  be  set  aside  by  the  pop- 
ular vote  of  men  whose  attention  has  been  concentrated  upon 
the  admirably  dexterous  manipulation  of  a  link  and  pin  ? 
No  wonder  that  many  of  them  express  a  preference  for  the 
device  which  they  have  learned  to  handle  with  a  facility 
which  makes  the  uninitiated  tremble  for  their  safety  when 
they  see  such  a  performance  take  place  amid  trains  of  mov- 
ing cars.  The  fact  is,  that  the  only  justification  for  legis- 
lative interference  in  this  matter  is  that  such  interference 
is  essential  to  the  protection  of  railroad  employees,  and 
that  such  protection  can  be  obtained  in  no  other  way.  If 
the  man  engaged  to  couple  cars  does  not  go  between  them, 
he  is  sufficiently  protected  from  injury,  and  if  the  railroad 
company  provides  a  device  by  which  cars  can  be  coupled 
and  uncoupled  without  the  employee  going  between  the 
cars,  there  can  be  no  just  occasion  for  legislative  inter- 
ference. This  is  exactly  what  has  been  done  by  the  Mas- 
ter Car  Builders  and  by  the  American  Railway  Association. 


56  AMERlCAlT  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

That  device  is  a  rod  which  projects  from  the  side  of  the 
car  and  which  has  only  to  be  turned  partly  around  to  un- 
couple the  car  to  which  it  is  attached.  So  long  as  that 
rod  is  there  the  brakeman  or  yardman  can  uncouple  the 
cars  without  going  between  them,  and  so  long  as  that  rod 
fulfils  this  purpose  it  is  no  affair  of  the  yardman  or  brake- 
man  as  to  what  is  at  the  other  end  of  the  rod.  But  it  is 
of  a  great  deal  of  importance  to  the  railroad  companies, 
owning  together  over  a  million  cars.  For  the  change  of 
couplers  on  all  these  cars  represents  to  them  over 
$25,000,000,  and  it  is  their  responsible  managers,  and  not 
the  switchmen,  who  must  see  to  it  that  this  immense  sum 
is  not  misapplied.  This  is  what  has  already  been  done  by 
the  adoption  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  type.  Adopted 
generally  in  October,  1890,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that 
it  has  already  been  applied  to  over  200,000  cars,  or  about 
one-fifth  of  all  the  cars  in  service,  and  we  have  reliable 
information  that  in  all  new  construction,  say  on  25,000 
cars  now  being  built  or  under  contract,  this  coupler  will 
be  generally  applied.  What  more  can  be  hoped  for  from 
a  popular  vote  of  employees  ?  The  demand  for  a  re- 
moval of  all  these  couplers  and  the  return  to  the  link  and 
pin  type  ?  Such  a  demand  has  been  voiced  before  the 
Committee  of  Railroad  Commissioners,  as  well  as  before 
the  congressional  committees,  and  the  demand  has  been 
eloquently  enforced  by  gestures  made  with  hands  maimed 
in  the  use  of  just  such  link  and  pin  couplers.  This 
anomaly  in  human  nature  is  bewildering  to  those  whose 
hearts  are  filled  with  sympathy  for  these  unfortunates, 
but  it  is  understood  by  those  who  are  familiar  with  rail- 
road service.  It  is  due,  primarily,  to  a  reluctance  to 
change  from  old  habits  and  devices  with  which  we  are 
familiar  to  those  which  are  novel  and  strange  ;  next,  to  a 
fear  that,  because  of  the  safety  that  attaches  to  the 
operation  of  the  new  device,  new  men  will  more  readily 
undertake  to  fill  the  positions  of  switchmen.  But  there  is 
yet  another  motive,  which  has  a  more  rational  foundation. 


ADDRESSfiS,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASsOClATlOi;.        t>1 

and  that  is  the  greater  difficulty  that  attaches  to  coupling 
a  Master  Car  Builders'  coupler  to  a  link  and  pin  coupler. 
While  this  great  difficulty  should  be  recognized,  it  does 
not  follow  that  there  is  also  a  greater  liability  to  injury.  In 
the  absence  of  reliable  statistics  on  this  point,  it  may  be 
assumed  that,  because  of  the  greater  difficulty,  greater 
care  is  habitually  exercised  in  making  such  couplings  and 
Ti  corresponding  diminution  in  the  number  of  casualties. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  such  casualties  can  only  occur  during 
the  period  of  transition  from  the  link  and  pin  to  the 
Master  Car  Builders'  coupler,  and  it  has  been  frequently 
proven  by  figures  that  they  must  rapidly  diminish  in  fre- 
quency after  half  the  number  of  cars  in  service  have  been 
equipped  with  couplers  of  the  latter  type.  The  outcome 
of  a  popular  vote  of  employees  as  to  a  choice  of  couplers 
is  foreshadowed  in  an  experiment  of  this  kind  mentioned 
in  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners'  Eeport  of  January, 
1891. 

It  seems  that,  after  the  publication  of  the  President's 
message,  to  which  I  have  already  referred,  the  New  Eng- 
land Railroad  Club  undertook  to  obtain  from  employees 
engaged  in  handling  cars  an  expression  of  opinion  "  as  to 
the  form  of  coupler  which  best  combines  uniformity,  auto- 
matic action  and  safety."  Out  of  1,948  votes,  1,239  were 
for  the  Safford  Automatic  Link  and  Pin  Coupler,  585 
were  for  couplers  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  type,  63 
were  for  the  old  link  and  pin,  and  the  remaining  61  scat- 
tering. The  Safford  Coupler  is  a  great  improvement  on 
the  old  link  and  pin,  but  its  use  with  power  brakes  would 
be  just  as  impracticable,  yet  this  does  not  seem  to  have 
weighed  with  the  majority  of  the  voters.  One  objection  to 
the  Master  Car  Builders'  type  -yas  the  difficulty  and  danger 
in  coupling  to  it  with  a  link  and  pin,  an  objection  already 
shown  to  be  transitory;  another  was  that  it  could  not  be 
made  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  blows  to  which  it 
must  be  submitted  in  terminal  traffic,  an  objection  which 
experience  has  shown  to  be  without  foundation ;  another. 


68  AMERICAN   HAlLWAY   MAKAGEMEKT. 

that  the  expense  for  repairs  would  be  so  great.  I  make 
this  reference  to  show  how  an  important  question  like  this 
would  be  handled  in  a  popular  election  contest,  and  to 
contrast  it  with  the  result  of  the  careful  thought  expended 
upon  the  same  question  by  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Asso- 
ciation. 

So  much  for  the  idea  of  determining  by  a  vote  of  em- 
ployees how  the  railroad  companies  shall  spend  $25,000,- 
000  on  couplers — an  idea  which  pervades  much  of  the 
proposed  compulsory  legislation. 

Another  idea  is  that  of  determining  the  same  matter 
by  a  commission  composed,  for  instance,  of  a  master  car 
builder,  a  yard  switchman,  a  railroad  operating  official  and 
several  outsiders.  This  commission  is  to  investigate  the 
merits  of  all  couplers  presented  to  them,  and  the  coupler 
decided  upon  by  a  majority  of  this  commission  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  shall  proclaim  to  be  the  standard 
safety  coupler.  Would  such  a  commission  be  any  more 
competent  to  decide  the  question  than  the  commission  of 
technical  experts  termed  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Asso- 
ciation, or  that  of  managing  railway  officials  termed  the 
American  Eailway  Association  ?  The  superior  compe- 
tency of  the  latter  can  only  be  disputed  by  impeaching 
the  good  faith  of  their  members. 

And  what  is  there  for  the  proposed  commission  to  de- 
termine ?  It  must  either  decide  in  favor  of  the  Master  Car 
Builders'  type  or  against  it.  If  the  former,  such  a  deci- 
sion is  unnecessary,  for  railroad  companies  representing 
123,000  out  of  the  175,000  miles  of  railroads  in  this 
country  have  already  made  a  similar  decision.  If  such 
a  commission  were  to  decide  against  the  Master  Car 
Builders'  type,  they  must  decide  in  favor  of  something 
else.  What  would  that  something  else  be  ?  We  know  of 
no  other  type  of  coupler  in  actual  use  than  the  link  and 
pin,  a  type  which,  as  practical  tests  have  shown,  cannot 
be  used  with  power  brakes  in  the  same  train.  Let  us  leave 
the  advocates  of  a  congressional  commission  in  this  di- 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAiq"   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATIOJ^.        59 

lemma  and  consider  another  aspect  of  compulsory  legisla- 
tion. 

It  has  been  said  to  us  :  "  If  you  oppose  the  selection  of 
a  safety  coupler  by  a  plebiscite  of  railroad  employees  or 
by  a  congressional  commission,  what  sort  of  compulsory 
legislation  do  you  favor  ?  "  Our  answer  may  be  made  in 
the  language  of  the  Massachusetts  Eailroad  Commission  : 
''  Those  who  urged  that  there  should  be  no  legislation  at 
all  upon  the  subject,  claimed  that  the  railroad  companies 
were  proceeding  in  the  development  and  adoption  of  au- 
tomatic couplers  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  that  any  legis- 
lation would  be  likely  to  saddle  upon  the  country  some  de- 
vice, unsatisfactory  and  imperfect ;  would  impose  upon 
the  railroad  companies  great  expense  with  no  correspond- 
ing benefit  to  the  employees,  and  would,  in  fact,  be  a  bar 
to  progress  towards  perfection.  This  argument  is  of  weight 
and  should  not  be  disregarded,  unless  the  circumstances 
are  of  a  nature  so  exceptional  as  to  justify  a  departure 
from  a  principle  of  legislation  which  for  many  years  has 
been  generally  adhered  to  in  this  State  with  satisfactory 
results." 

By  this  statement  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission  we 
should  be  willing  to  abide;  that  there  is  no  reason  for 
compulsory  legislation  unless  the  circumstances  are  of  a 
nature  so  exceptional  as  to  justify  it.  The  only  justifica- 
tion for  it  would  be  that  the  railroad  companies  will  not 
voluntarily  protect  their  employees  from  injury  while 
coupling  cars  by  the  adoption  of  some  safety  coupler 
which  has  been  proven  in  actual  service  to  serve  this  pur- 
pose. This  the  companies,  members  of  our  Association, 
have  already  done  without  compulsory  legislation.  But 
some  earnest  and  sincere  friends  of  railroad  employees 
who  admit  this  say  that  compulsory  legislation  is  needed 
to  enforce  the  adoption  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Coup- 
ler upon  that  minority  of  railroad  companies  which  stand 
out  against  it.  To  this  we  reply  that,  judging  of  the  fu- 
ture by  the  past,  we  do  not  agree  in  this  opinion.     We 


60  AMERICAK  RAILWAY  MAiTAGEMENT. 

can  refer  them  to  the  change  of  gauge  of  track  on  the 
Southern  roads,  a  change  of  nearly  25,000  miles,  substan- 
tially in  a  single  day,  brought  about  by  organized  action 
of  the  railroad  companies  themselves  and  without  com- 
pulsory legislation.  We  can  also  point  to  the  general 
adoption  of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  type  of  coupler  on 
passenger  trains — brought  about  also  without  compulsory 
legislation.  We  say  to  them  that  it  was  only  a  year  or 
more  ago  that  the  freight  coupler  problem  actually  passed 
out  of  the  experimental  stage  ;  that  already  it  has  been 
placed  on  about  one-fifth  of  the  cars  in  service,  and  per- 
haps on  four-fifths  of  the  cars  now  under  construction.  We 
may  add  that,  when  the  time  has  come  that  those  railroad 
companies  which  have  urged  this  reform  are  themselves 
in  a  position  to  insist  upon  it,  they  will  decline  to  receive 
any  freight  car  not  equipped  with  the  Master  Car  Builders' 
type  of  coupler,  as  they  do  to-day  with  passenger  cars. 
All  that  is  now  required  to  side-track  a  passenger  car  not 
so  equipped  is  the  car  inspector's  chalk  mark,  and  that  is 
all  the  compulsory  legislation  that  we  think  will  be  neces- 
sary to  side-track  a  freight  car  when  the  time  has  arrived 
to  insist  upon  it. 

If  we  are  asked  how  long  this  desirable  result  is  to  be 
delayed,  we  must  each  give  his  individual  opinion,  for, 
after  all,  it  must  be  a  matter  of  opinion.  Answering  for 
myself,  I  will  say,  substantially,  in  less  time  than  any  ad- 
vocate of  compulsory  legislation  will  insist  upon.  The 
good  work  is  going  on  at  an  accelerating  speed.  While  a 
year  ago  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Coupler  was  rarely  seen 
on  a  train,  now  it  is  the  exception  to  find  a  train  without 
it.  The  principal  manufacturers  are  enlarging  their 
works  to  meet  the  growing  demand.  On  our  principal 
trunk  lines  it  is  the  rule  in  repairs  to  use  it  in 
place  of  the  link  and  pin  coupler.  With  many  companies 
the  delay  in  the  sreneral  adoption  of  the  standard  device 
comes  from  inability  to  make  the  necessary  expenditure 
at  once.     The  economic  qustion  cannot  be  lost  sight  of. 


ADDRESSES,    AMERICAi?-   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".        61 

In  these  days  of  a  small  margin  between  the  rate  per  mile 
and  the  cost  per  mile,  large  expenditures  cannot  be  made 
from  income  account,  and  if  they  must  be  provided  for 
from  capital  account  many  companies  must  wait  until 
there  is  a  market  for  their  stocks  and  bonds.  How  could 
a  compulsory  statute  with  a  penal  provision  be  made  to  ap- 
ply to  a  company  under  such  circumstances  ? 

I  have  trespassed  upon  your  attention  beyond  the  usual 
limit  of  time,  but  I  have  been  urged  to  do  so  by  my  desire 
to  use  this  opportunity  to  defend  the  railroad  companies 
against  the  charge  of  indifference  to  the  welfare  of  their 
employees.  I  have  sought  to  show  that  whatever  has  been 
accomplished  in  this  matter  of  safety  couplers  has  been  the 
work  of  the  railroad  companies  ;  that  it  has  been  accom- 
plished as  rapidly  as  the  state  of  the  art  would  permit,  and 
that  their  organized  action  through  the  American  Railway 
Association  has  rendered  unnecessary  compulsory  legisla- 
tion on  safety  couplers. 


62  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT, 


STANDARD   CODE  OF  TRAIN  RULES:    BLOCK 
SYSTEM. 

(October  12,  1892,  at  24  Park  Place,  New  York.) 

I  propose  to-day  to  speak  of  matters  of  present  interest 
to  the  members  of  the  Association,  relating  to  the  Stand- 
ard Code  of  Train  Rules. 

Although  its  adoption  called  in  many  instances  for  a  de- 
cided departure  from  established  customs,  the  manifest 
advantage  of  uniform  rules  and  the  merits  of  the  code  it- 
self have  prevailed  over  all  opposition.  To-day  it  is  re- 
ferred to  in  our  courts  of  law  as  embodying  the  best  mod- 
ern practice,  and  the  railroad  management  that  ignores 
it  handicaps  itself  in  any  litigation  involving  the  reason- 
ableness of  train  rules,  or  a  failure  on  the  part  of  em- 
ployees to  observe  them.  These  considerations  induced 
the  Association  to  establish  the  Standing  Committee  on 
Train  Rules,  to  pass  upon  questions  as  to  the  proper  con- 
struction and  application  of  the  standard  code  and  upon 
suggestions  as  to  its  improvement. 

Some  of  these  suggestions  have  come  in  the  form  of  a 
report  from  a  committee  of  the  Train  Dispatchers'  Associa- 
tion of  America,  which,  in  October  last,  presented  a  me- 
morial submitting  certain  amendments  as  the  result  of 
practical  experience  in  its  use.  This  action  of  the  Train 
Dispatchers'  Association  is  worthy  of  notice,  not  only  for 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  suggestions,  but  even  more  so 
because  of  the  interest  taken  by  its  members  in  the  proper 
conduct  of  the  important  branch  of  railroad  service 
entrusted  to  them. 

In  considering  these  proposed  amendments,  the  Con- 
mittee  on  Train  Rules  has  had  to  keep  in  view  certain 
principles  which  can  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  preparation 


ADDKESSES,   AMEKICAK   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.        63 

or  modification  of  a  standard  code.  Such  a  code  should  be 
applicable  to  the  train  service  of  all  roads  operated  under 
what  may  be  called  the  American  method,  and  should  con- 
tain all  rules  necessary  to  the  movement  of  trains  with 
safety.  These  rules  should  be  expressed  as  briefly  as  is 
compatible  with  a  clear  understanding  of  them,  and  the 
same  word  should  invariably  mean  the  same  thing. 

In  order  that  the  code  may  meet  the  requirements  of 
our  largest  railroad  systems,  and  at  the  same  time  be  used 
on  single  track  roads  with  light  traffic,  those  rules  should 
be  first  laid  down  which  are  of  primary  importance  and 
applicable  to  train  service  generally.  To  them  should  be 
added  rules  for  operating  double-track  roads  and  such 
others  as  may  be  required  for  operating  roads  with  excep- 
tionally heavy  traffic.  The  primary  rules,  those  that  em- 
body principles  which  under  no  conditions  can  be  disre- 
garded with  safety,  constitute  the  groundwork  of  the 
code  to  be  accepted  and  followed  by  all ;  while  the 
secondary  rules,  those  which  are  required  for  the  proper 
conduct  of  heavy  traffic,  are  to  be  adopted  by  each  of  us  as 
our  increasing  business  may  require  them.  This  is  the 
only  basis  on  which  a  code  of  train  rules  for  general  use 
could  be  founded. 

To  the  matter  of  expression  much  thought  should  be 
given.  Every  word  fairly  capable  of  more  than  one  mean- 
ing should  be  defined  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  intended 
to  be  used. 

While,  in  the  preparation  of  the  Standard  Code  the 
Committee  on  Train  Eules  undertook  no  more  than  to 
embody  the  best  recognized  practice,  the  step  which  it 
took  to  ensure  accuracy  in  watches  used  by  trainmen  did 
away  with  a  frequent  cause  of  collisions  in  the  allowance 
of  time  for  variation  of  watches.  The  establishment  of 
the  double  order  for  the  movement  of  trains  by  telegraph 
and  of  standard  forms  for  the  transmission  of  such  orders 
are  also  parts  of  the  Standard  Code  for  which  we  are  in- 
debted to  this  Committee. 


64  AMEKICA]^"   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMEKT. 

For  that  code  to  be  of  general  and  permanent  value  it 
must  not  be  subjected  to  frequent  alterations.  There  is 
a  large  army  of  railroad  employees  and  officials  distributed 
over  170,000  miles  of  railway  who  should  each  of  them  be 
thoroughly  versed  in  this  code.  They  should  be  so  fa- 
miliar with  its  very  language  as  to  be  capable  of  reciting  it 
from  memory.  The  rules  will  then  readily  recur  to  their 
minds  in  an  emergency.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  once 
the  language  of  the  code  has  been  so  fixed  as  to  be  in- 
capable of  misinterpretation  it  should  not  be  changed 
except  to  conform  to  accepted  improvements  in  train  ser- 
vice, and  then  only  after  careful  consideration. 

Now  that  it  has  for  some  years  been  kept  virtually  in- 
tact, it  has  been  found  advisable  to  publish  an  edition 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Association  which  can  be  ap- 
pealed to  as  authentic  in  litigation  and  for  other  purposes. 

If  we  recognize  the  advantage  of  having  an  uniform 
set  of  rules  throughout  the  country,  and  if  we  admit  that 
this  Standard  Code  conforms  in  general  to  the  best  prac- 
tice, those  who  have  so  far  refrained  from  adopting  it 
may  well  be  asked  to  waive  their  objection  to  this  or  that 
rule  and  their  preference  for  some  other  not  recognized 
in  the  code,  and  to  fall  in  line  with  the  companies 
operating  about  one  hundred  thousand  miles  of  road  that 
have  now  substantially  accepted  it. 

In  what  I  have  said  I  have  sought  to  establish  the 
necessity  for  an  uniform  code  of  train  rules,  a  necessity 
which  has  been  provided  for  in  the  code  adopted  by  this 
Association.  This  code  should  not  be  modified  in  any 
respect  except  to  conform  it  to  accepted  improvements  in 
train  service. 

In  this  respect  the  Standard  Code  is  deficient.  It  does 
not  recognize  improved  methods  of  train  service  which 
have  been  to  some  extent  in  use  for  years  on  our  best 
roads,  and  which  are  now  deemed  essential  to  the  success- 
ful conduct  of  a  heavy  traffic.  I  refer  to  the  means  afforded 
for  protection  of  trains  against  each  other  outside  of  the 


ADD i; ESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".        65 

efforts  of  the  trainmen  themselves.  From  one  end  of  the 
code  to  the  other  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  it  is  cus- 
tomary in  this  country  to  provide  any  other  means  for 
such  protection. 

The  "  Train  Eules "  so  called  are,  by  themselves,  ap- 
plicable only  to  the  operation  of  a  single  track  road  with  a 
light  traffic.  For  any  considerable  business,  even  on  a 
single  track  road,  they  would  be  supplemented  by  "  The 
Eules  Governing  the  Movement  of  Trains  by  Telegraphic 
Orders."  But  when  we  go  on  a  step  further  and  provide 
for  an  increase  of  traffic  by  the  use  of  "  running  sidings  " 
as  distinguished  from  ^^  passing  sidings,"  we  get  no  aid 
from  the  code  as  to  the  proper  rules  to  be  observed  in 
using  them.  Neither  are  double  track  roads  recognized 
except  in  approaching  the  end  of  double  track,  as  in  Eule 
No.  94,  or  in  passing  from  double  to  single  track,  as  in 
Eule  No.  95. 

I  have  not  brought  these  matters  up  to  disparage  the 
code.  What  has  been  accomplished  in  its  preparation  is 
of  value  to  that  large  part  of  the  mileage  of  this  country 
which  is  single  track,  but  the  time  has  now  come  when 
the  double  track  roads  begin  to  call  for  recognition  by  the 
Train  Eule  Committee  and  to  ask  for  a  standard  set  of 
rules  for  the  protection  of  their  trains  by  methods  which 
do  not  depend  solely  upon  the  intelligence  or  vigilance  of 
train  employees. 

This  opens  up  a  new  and  extensive  field  of  action  for 
the  Committee,  partly  well  explored  and  understood, 
partly  a  debatable  ground.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
members  of  the  Train  Eule  Committee,  mindful  of  their 
past  experience  in  formulating  and  defending  the  present 
code,  should  pause  and  reflect  before  entering  upon  the 
far  more  difficult  task  before  them.  It  is  no  holiday  work 
for  the  amusement  of  their  leisure  hours.  It  draws  freely 
upon  the  time  and  brains  of  men  who  are  already  burdened 
with  responsibilities  of  no  ordinary  character,  and  it  is 


66  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

due  to  fhem  that  we  should  apprehend  what  it  is  that  we 
have  now  asked  them  to  do. 

As  I  understand  it,  we  have  asked  them  to  submit  a  set 
of  rules  for  the  protection  of  trains  by  methods  which  do 
not  depend  solely  upon  the  intelligence  and  vigilance  of 
train  employees.  On  double  track  roads  these  methods 
are  intended  to  maintain  safe  intervals  between  following 
trains  by  the  use  of  signals  which  serve  to  convey  certain 
information  to  the  engineers  of  those  trains. 

The  idea  of  maintaining  intervals  of  time  between  trains 
has  been  realized  in  various  ways,  as  by  track  sentries  or 
by  the  display  of  signals  at  curves  or  at  other  specially 
hazardous  points  or  by  a  record  at  stations,  visible  from 
passing  trains,  showing  the  time  that  the  last  train  had 
passed  in  the  same  direction.  The  method  of  time  in- 
tervals between  following  trains  affords  efficient  protection 
so  long  as  the  trains  maintain  an  uniform  schedule  speed, 
can  be  readily  stopped  within  the  recognized  time  interval 
and  are  not  liable  to  unexpected  delays  between  signal 
stations.  These  conditions  prevail  on  roads  doing  prin- 
cipally a  passenger  business  with  light  and  frequent  trains, 
and  such  roads  can  be  and  are  now  successfully  operated 
under  this  method. 

A  heavy  freight  traffic  cannot  be  satisfactorily  con- 
ducted under  a  time  interval  between  trains.  The  liability 
to  unexpected  delays  between  signal  stations  is  great,  and 
more  time  is  required  to  stop  the  train  than  in  passenger 
service,  as  also  for  flagmen  to  get  back  to  the  distance  in 
which  the  following  train  can  be  stopped,  due  allowance 
being  made  for  grades  and  curves.  A  proper  regard  for 
these  different  conditions  compels  an  increase  in  the  time 
interval  which  seriously  embarrasses  the  service,  especially 
as  the  intervening  passenger  trains  must  respect  the  same 
interval,  and  the  resulting  tendency  is  to  restrict  this  in- 
terval within  too  narrow  limits. 

A  comparison  of  rear  collision  reports  will  show  that  the 
most  of  them  ^re  with  freight  trains.     Experience  thQiQ-- 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN    RAILWAY    ASSOCIATION.         67 

fore  proves  that  a  time  interval  does  not  afford  sufficient 
protection  on  roads  that  have  a  heavy  freight  traffic  unless 
that  interval  be  so  extended  as  to  seriously  interfere  with 
business — yet  this  was  the  only  method  available  until  it 
became  possible  to  establish  an  interval  of  space  by  means 
of  the  electric  telegraph.  This  method  of  conveying  infor- 
mation had  been  for  some  time  used  for  other  purposes 
before  it  became  the  accepted  medium  for  orders  to  trains, 
but  even  now  that  the  Standard  Code  includes  "  The  rules 
governing  the  movement  of  trains  by  telegraphic  orders," 
those  rules  are  mainly  a  protection  against  butting  col- 
lisions only.  For  protection  against  rear  collisions  it  is 
not  rules  for  moving  trains  that  are  required  but  rules  for 
stopping  them.  We  want  rules  for  stopping  them  by  the 
maintenance  of  a  time  interval  for  those  who  prefer  that 
method  and  rules  for  stopping  them  by  a  space  interval 
for  those  whose  traffic  has  outgrown  that  method. 

The  maintenance  of  space  intervals  is  no  novelty,  for  it 
has  been  for  years  in  use  upon  many  of  our  roads.  The 
appreciation  of  its  value  has  become  so  prevalent  that  its 
more  general  adoption  is  demanded  not  only  by  the  rail- 
road Journals  but  also  in  the  daily  newspapers.  Why, 
then,  does  not  our  Train  Eule  Committee  add  to  the 
Standard  Code  "  Kules  for  the  movement  of  trains  under 
the  block  system  "  ? 

The  railroad  corporations  elected  under  our  rules  as  the 
members  of  this  Committee  select  from  among  their  own 
officials  those  whom  they  deem  best  fitted  to  represent 
them  in  this  connection  ;  the  Committee  has  at  its  com- 
mand the  resources  of  our  extensive  membership  from 
which  to  obtain  any  information  required  for  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  constituted  ;  this  special  subject  has  been 
before  that  Committee  for  over  a  year,  and  yet  not  even  a 
preliminary  report  has  been  made.  I  do  not  propose  to 
arraign  these  gentlemen  before  you  to-day,  but,  being 
ex-officio  a  member  of  their  Committee,  to  offer  without 
their  knowledge  an  explanatiou  in  their  behalf,     They 


68  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

recognize  the  necessity  for  greater  uniformity  in  the  oper- 
ation of  trains  under  the  block  system  ;  they  acknowledge 
that  the  Standard  Code  should  include  a  set  of  rules  ap- 
plicable to  this  system  ;  they  respect  the  call  made  upon 
them  by  the  Association  to  furnish  such  a  set  of  rules  and 
would  gladly  respond  to  the  call  and  yet  they  fail  to  do 
so.  Being  rather  a  looker-on  than  an  active  participant 
in  their  deliberations,  I  have  not  only  observed  their  situa- 
tion, I  have  reflected  upon  it.  My  conclusion  is. that  their 
inaction,  if  I  may  so  term  it,  is  due  neither  to  their  inabil- 
ity nor  to  their  indisposition  to  codify  the  ordinary 
practice  in  the  use  of  the  block  system,  but  because  they 
are  in  doubt  as  to  the  sufficiency  of  that  ordinary  practice 
to  provide  for  the  normal  increase  of  train  service  on  the 
roads  where  these  rules  are  more  anxiously  desired,  and 
because  of  the  impending  changes  in  the  conditions  under 
which  the  service  is  to  be  performed.  To  make  clear  to 
you  what  I  have  in  mind  I  will  outline  briefly  what  these 
conditions  have  been,  keeping  in  view  the  object  to  be 
obtained,  the  maintenance  of  a  distance  interval  between 
following  trains.  The  change  of  this  interval  from  one 
of  time  to  one  of  space  was  first  secured  through  the  aid 
of  the  electric  telegraph,  and  the  information  thus  ob- 
tained was  transmitted  by  signal  from  the  receiving  oper- 
ator to  the  engineer  of  the  approaching  train.  This  in- 
formation was  of  a  simple  character,  either  that  there  was 
or  was  not  a  train  in  the  space  intervening  between  him- 
self and  the  receiving  operator.  This  was  the  fundamental 
principle  of  the  "block"  system,  that  the  engineer  of  a 
train  approaching  a  signal  station  was  to  be  informed  from 
that  station  whether  there  was  or  was  not  a  train  in  the 
block  ahead  of  him.  The  next  step  was  to  instruct  that  en- 
gineer as  to  the  use  he  was  to  make  of  that  information. 
There  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  rule  which  he  was  to  follow 
when  the  block  was  clear — he  was  to  proceed.  But  what 
was  he  to  do  when  he  was  informed  that  the  preceding 
tr^in  w^s  still  in  the  block  ?    Was  he  to  go  ahead  or  not  ? 


ADDRESSES,  AMERlCAK   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         69 

The  safest  rule  was  to  stop  until  the  block  was  cleared. 
But  just  as  increasing  traffic  became  embarrassed  by  the 
time  interval,  so  the  same  experience  followed  the  institu- 
tion of  the  space  interval,  and  this  embarrassment  it  was 
sought  to  remove  by  such  a  modification  of  the  rule  to 
stop  until  the  block  was  cleared  as  permitted  the  following 
train  to  enter  the  block  with  the  knowledge  that  it  was 
not  clear.  This  is  the  broad  distinction  between  the  ab- 
solute and  the  permissive  block  system.  The  former  is 
not  only  safe  but  simple  ;  the  latter  requires  that  the  rear 
of  the  first  train  in  a  block  must  be  protected  by  flagmen 
with  due  regard  to  the  relative  speed  of  the  two  trains, 
to  .the  curves  and  gradients  of  the  track  and  to  the  dis- 
tance in  which  the  following  train  could  be  stopped.  I 
think,  therefore,  that  it  is  fair  to  say  that  the  permissive 
block  system  is  an  improvement  on  the  time  interval  only 
in  this  respect :  that  the  engineer  of  the  approaching  train 
can  be  informed  whether  there  is  or  is  not  a  train  in  the 
block  ahead. 

I  say  that  he  can  be  informed,  but  it  is  possible  that  he 
may  not  be  informed  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  sometimes 
he  is  misinformed.  This  brings  us  to  consider  the  man- 
ner in  which  this  information  is  conveyed  from  the  re- 
ceiving operator  to  the  approaching  engineer.  The  latter 
must  receive  it  through  the  eye  or  ear,  by  visible  or  by 
audible  signals.  If  through  the  eye,  the  impression  re- 
ceived 'must  be  either  as  to  form,  color  or  position.  This 
opens  a  field  of  discussion  as  to  how  the  visible  signals 
shall  be  made.  If  by  form,  whether  a  ball,  a  banner  or 
a  semaphore  arm  ;  if  by  color,  what  colors  shall  be  em- 
ployed and  what  they  shall  respectively  signify  ;  if  by 
position  of  several  objects,  what  shall  be  their  relative  po- 
sitions and  what  shall  they  signify. 

At  this  point  it  may  be  well  to  observe  that  whatever 
differences  of  opinion  there  may  be  among  experts  as  to 
the  adoption  of  the  absolute  or  the  permissive  block  sys- 
tem, they  ought  to  make  an  effort  to  reconcile  their  differ- 


70  AMERICAK   RAILWAY  MAKAGEMENT. 

ences  so  far  as  to  unite  in  recommending  a  uniform  system 
of  signals  for  conveying  information  to  the  engineer  of  an 
approaching  train.  The  causes  for  their  different  opinions 
are  all  well  founded,  but  they  are  not  irreconcilable.  It 
is  true  that  they  have  become  more  involved  of  late 
through  the  introduction  of  interlocking  switch  plants,  as 
I  will  mention  later  in  my  remarks  ;  but  what  I  wish  to 
impress  upon  you  is  that,  in  the  operation  of  the  block 
system,  a  code  of  rules  for  the  guidance  of  train  men  is 
one  thing  and  a  code  of  signals  for  conveying  information 
to  them  is  another,  and  that  neither  should  be  confounded 
with  the  appliances  for  operating  these  signals.  For  the 
better  understanding  of  my  views  as  to  the  duty  of  the 
Train  Eule  Committee  in  this  matter  I  will  repeat  that 
there  are  three  separate  subjects  connected  with  the  oper- 
ation of  trains  under  the  block  system  : 

First,  The  rules  for  the  guidance  of  train  men. 

Second,  The  signals  which  are  to  convey  information  to 
them. 

Third,  The  appliances  for  operating  the  signals. 

The  mention  of  the  third  subject  brings  up  a  matter 
which,  by  the  rules  of  our  Association,  has  been  specially 
committed  to  the  standing  Committee  on  Safety  Appli- 
ances, to  consider  and  report  upon  all  questions  affecting 
the  essential  requisites  of  devices  for  interlocking  switches 
and  for  block  systems  ;  the  other  two  subjects  being 
properly  within  the  purview  of  the  standing  Committee 
on  Train  Eules.  As  the  three  subjects  are  somewhat  in- 
terdependent, your  Executive  Committee  has  requested 
that  the  two  committees  shall  jointly  consider  them. 

The  necessity  for  this  joint  action  is  due  to  the  bearing 
which  the  character  of  the  appliances  may  have  upon  the 
character  of  the  rules  and  signals,  and  here  comes  in  an- 
other element  to  intensify  the  difficulties  which  our  Com- 
mittees have  had  to  encounter. 

The  appliances  for  operating  the  signals  are  controlled 
directly  by  the  operator  at  the  entrance  of  the  block,  who 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   ASSOCIATIOK.        71 

manipulates  them  in  accordance  with  the  information 
which  he  has  received  from  the  operator  at  the  outlet  of 
the  block.  The  information  that  the  block  is  clear  or  not 
clear  is  conveyed  to  the  engineer  of  the  approaching  train 
through  human  agency,  and  the  possibility  of  error  is 
doubled,  or  rather  tripled,  by  the  intervention  of  two  per- 
sons besides  the  engineer.  He  may  either  misinterpret  or 
disregard  the  visible  signals  ;  the  receiving  operator  may 
misinterpret  or  disregard  the  information  which  is  to  con- 
trol the  display  of  the  signals  ;  the  sending  operator  may 
either  transmit  that  information  incorrectly  or  fail  to  send 
it  at  all. 

Leaving  out  the  rules  for  the  guidance  of  train  men 
and  the  code  of  signals,  the  block  system,  so  far  as  it  is 
in  general  use,  is  deficient  in  providing  the  means  for  the 
protection  of  following  trains,  because  it  does  not  eliminate 
the  element  of  human  fallibility.  This  defect  railroad 
managers,  signal  manufacturers  and  inventors  are  trying 
to  remedy,  and  it  is  because  our  Train  Rule  Committee 
is  conscious  of  these  facts  that  it  has  hesitated  to  endorse 
the  block  system  as  now  used.  Their  hesitation  has  been 
increased  by  the  contest  between  the  several  systems  which 
have  been  devised  to  supplant  the  present  system,  and  which 
are  now  in  experimental  use  to  an  extent  which  promises  to 
simplify  th^  solution  of  the  problem  by  an  exclusion  of 
that  which!  has  failed  in  trial.  The  effort  to  eliminate 
human  agency  begins  with  the  normal  state  of  the  signal, 
whether  the  action,  of  the  operator  at  that  point  shall  be 
required  to  inform  the  approaching  engineer  that  the 
block  is  clear  or  that  it  is  not.  If  he  can  only  give  this  in- 
formation under  the  control  of  the  operator  at  the  outlet 
of  the  block  there  is  one  mind  the  less  to  make  a  mistake. 
It  is  for  the  Train  Rule  Committee  to  so  determine  the 
normal  state  of  the  signal  as  to  reduce  the  probability 
of  its  being  misinterpreted  or  disregarded  by  the  approach- 
ing engineer,  and  for  the  Safety  Appliance  Committee  to 
determine  the  essential  requisites  of  the  appliances  which 


72  AMERICAN   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

shall  prevent  the  receiving  operator  from  displaying  a 
signal  improperly. 

Going  to  the  other  end  of  the  block,  we  have  to  guard 
against  the  transmission  of  incorrect  information  to  the 
receiving  operator  or  the  failure  to  send  it  at  all.  The 
latter  contingency  may  be  avoided  if  the  normal  state  of 
the  entrance  signal  can  be  changed  only  by  the  act  of 
the  sending  operator,  but  the  former,  the  protection 
against  the  transmission  of  incorrect  information,  is  more 
difficult  to  secure.  This  man  has  to  determine  that  the 
block  is  or  is  not  clear,  and  then  control  accordingly  the 
display  of  the  signal  at  the  other  end  of  the  block.  He 
determines  that  the  block  is  clear,  first,  from  a  notification 
that  a  train  has  entered,  next  by  actual  observation  of  its 
passage.  It  is  not  sufficient  for  him  to  know  that  an  en- 
gine has  passed  out  of  the  block,  but  also  that  every  car 
which  was  attached  to  that  engine  when  it  entered  the 
block  passed  out  with  it.  That  some  such  protection 
should  be  required  by  the  rules  is  within  the  province  of 
the  Train  Eule  Committee,  as  it  is  the  province  of  the 
Safety  Appliance  Committee  to  determine  the  essential 
requisites  of  the  appliances  by  which  that  protection  shall 
be  secured. 

Admitting  that  the  operator  at  the  outlet  of  the  block 
is  correctly  informed  that  the  block  is  clear,  we  have  next 
to  ensure  that  this  information  is  correctly  transmitted 
to  the  entrance  and  the  signal  properly  displayed.  The 
respective  duties  of  our  two  committees  in  this  matter 
are  also  obvious. 

If  the  rules,  signals  and  appliances  for  the  use  of  the 
block  system  can  be  successfully  wrought  out  to  this  stage 
then  there  is  yet  another  step  to  be  taken,  which  shall 
eliminate  the  intervention  of  the  sending  operator.  This 
has  been  experimentally  accomplished  by  several  devices 
actuated  by  the  train  as  it  passes  the  entrance  and  outlet 
of  the  block,  simultaneously  operating  a  display  of  the 
signals  required  to  block  the  interval  which  it  is  entering 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.         V3 

and  to  clear  that  which  it  is  leaving  ;  indeed,  this  effect 
can  now  be  extended  to  the  next  block  behind  it,  so  that 
the  engineer  of  a  following  train  is  thereby  informed,  not 
only  as  to  the  condition  of  the  block  ahead  of  him,  but 
also  as  to  the  condition  of  the  block  ahead  of  that. 

This  extended  protection  is  required  since  the  speed  and 
momentum  of  trains  have  exceeded  our  ability  to  stop 
them  within  the  distance  in  which,  under  all  circum- 
stances, the  signal  at  the  entrance  of  the  block  can  be 
made  visible  to  the  approaching  engineer.  To  meet  this 
difficulty,  and  to  avoid  the  consequently  necessary  retar- 
dation of  the  train,  the  entrance  or  home  signal  has  been 
supplemented  by  the  distant  signal,  and,  in  the  system 
above  described,  the  entrance  signal  of  one  block  is  the 
distant  signal  of  the  block  next  ahead.  The  circumstances 
under  which  distant  signals  should  be  required  will  affect 
the  rules  for  operating  a  block  system  as  well  as  the  essen- 
tial requisites  for  the  proper  appliances. 

Here  we  seem  to  have  reached  the  ultimate  limit  of  the 
resources  at  present  available  for  the  protection  of  trains 
against  each  other,  outside  of  the  efforts  of  the  train  men 
themselves.  There  is  another  step  which  may  yet  be 
taken,  that  of  protecting  the  trains  against  the  misconduct 
or  neglect  of  these/very  train  men,  by  the  introduction  of 
appliances  connected  with  the  block  signals  which  shall 
strike  the  engine  gong  or  blow  the  whistle,  or  apply  the 
brakes,  or  even  close  the  throttle-valve  of  the  approaching 
train,  but  these  appliances  have  not  reached  such  a  stage 
of  efficiency  as  to  call  for  further  notice  in  this  connection. 

Proceeding  on  a  line  parallel  with  the  improvement  of 
the  block  system,  there  has  been  a  demand  for  greater 
security  against  derailment  or  collisions  from  misplaced 
drawbridges  or  switches  or  at  railroad  crossings.  This  de- 
mand has  led  to  the  introduction  of  appliances  for  con- 
trolling one  or  more  such  points  from  one  location.  For 
convenience  of  operation,  this  control  has  been  gradually 
brought  into  accord  with  the  control  of  the  block  system 


74  AM  ERICA  K    lUTLWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

signals  and,  as  a  measure  of  safety,  that  accord  has  been 
made  interdependent  by  the  introduction  of  interlocking 
plants  that  have  developed  into  marvelously  ingenious 
pieces  of  mechanism.  In  this  development  there  have  been 
involved  the  same  questions  as  to  rules,  as  to  signals  and 
as  to  transmitting  information  to  train  men  and  to  oper- 
ators that  have  followed  upon  the  development  of  the 
block  system  and,  as  a  consequence,  there  has  come  about 
a  complication  which  our  Train  Eule  Committee  can  not 
disregard.  It  is  the  confusion  that  may  arise  as  to  whether 
a  signal  is  intended  to  show  that  a  switch  is  or  is  not  right 
for  an  approaching  train  or  whether  it  is  intended  to  show 
that  the  block  ahead  is  clear.  On  a  few  of  our  trunk  lines 
a  still  further  complication  has  arisen  which  will  extend 
with  increasing  traffic.  This  is  occasioned  by  the  con- 
struction of  additional  running  tracks  so  that  the  train 
rules  and  signals  are  required  to  provide  for  running  trains 
on  more  than  two  tracks.  While  this  is  not  a  pressing 
want  just  now,  it  may  well  be  provided  for  in  a  code  of 
standard  rules  for  a  block  system,  in  order  to  ensure  con- 
sistency with  that  code  in  the  further  development  of  such 
service. 

The  intervention  of  mechanical  appliances  in  the 
movement  and  control  of  signals,  switches,  drawbridges 
and  crossings  and  the  interlocking  of  such  appliances  have 
induced  the  substitution  of  other  motive  power  for  the 
muscular  power  of  man,  and  to-day  we  employ  steam,  com- 
pressed air  and  electricity  for  this  purpose,  either  singly  or 
in  combination.  To  what  extent  this  substitution  should 
affect  the  standard  block  system  rules  or  the  appliances 
required  by  those  rules  are  matters  that  even  our  Standing 
Committees  may  not  pass  judgment  upon  without  the  aid 
of  those  who  are  expert  in  the  application  of  such  forces 
to  our  purposes. 

I  will  not  refer  at  greater  length  to  the  task  now  before 
our  joint  committee  on  Train  Rules  and  Safety  Appliances 
and  hope  that  what  I  have  said  in  explanation  of  the  diffi- 


ADDKESSES,  AMtltlCAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         75 

culties  which  they  have  encountered  will  be  sufficient  to 
justify  their  tardiness  and  in  some  measure  to  indicate  the 
course  which  they  must  pursue. 

In  your  criticisms  upon  their  reports  and  in  your  an- 
ticipations of  the  result  of  their  work  you  should  be  re- 
stricted by  the  same  considerations  which  control  them, 
viz. :  that  our  Association  undertakes  no  more  than  to  es- 
tablish the  best  modern  practice  as  recognized  by  the  ma- 
jority of  our  members  and  only  in  those  matters  in  which 
a  uniform  practice  is  essential  to  the  best  results,  or,  to 
use  the  language  of  our  Eules  of  Order,  "  the  development 
and  solution  of  problems  connected  with  railroad  manage- 
ment in  the  mutual  interests  of  the  railroad  companies  of 
America." 

One  of  these  problems  is  the  development  of  a  Standard 
Code  of  Train  Eules,  and  this  problem  can  only  be  said  to 
have  been  definitely  solved  when  trains  can  be  run  fre- 
quently at  high  speed  from  start  to  finish  without  time 
card  or  traim  order,  secure  against  derailment  or  collision 
and  controlled  only  by  the  block  signal. 


%  AMElltCAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMEKT. 


VALUE  OF  CO-OPERATION  IN  THE  CONSIDERA- 
TION OF  QUESTIONS  OF  RAILROAD  MANAGE- 
MENT. 

(April  12,  1893,  at  Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  Chicago,  111 ) 

For  the  first  time  since  this  Association  was  formed  at 
Cincinnati,  in  1886,  it  meets  outside  of  the  City  of  New- 
York,  and  the  moving  cause  which  has  impelled  us  to  hold 
our  semi-annual  meeting  here  to-day  is  the  desire  to  get 
closer  to  the  domiciles  of  our  western  neighbors,  with  the 
hope  thereby  to  increase  their  interest  in  our  work  and  in 
the  purposes  for  which  we  are  associated  together.  These 
purposes  are  surely  worthy  of  attention  by  those  who  are 
responsible  for  the  efficient  management  of  the  railroads 
of  this  country.  They  are  formulated  in  our  rules  of  order 
as  "the  development  and  solution  of  problems  connected 
with  railroad  management  in  the  mutual  interest  of  the 
railroad  companies  of  America."  How  far  the  Association 
has  fulfilled  these  purposes  a  reference  to  its  proceedings 
will  show,  in  its  treatment  of  the  problems  of  Standard 
Time,  Standard  Train  Rules,  Standard  Freight  Car 
Couplers  and  Car  Service  Associations,  while  there  is  much 
which  it  has  accomplished  which  is  not  recorded  in  these 
proceedings.  The  frequent  conference  of  the  leading 
railroad  managers  of  the  country,  with  their  minds  de- 
voted to  subjects  affecting  the  welfare  of  our  national  rail- 
road system  as  a  whole,  could  not  but  result  in  a  better 
understanding  among  them  on  many  points  incidental 
to  the  principal  topics  under  discussion,  and  I  count 
among  the  benefits  growing  out  of  these  gatherings  the 
prevention  of  that  condition  of  mental  isolation  which  is 
often  unconsciously  assumed  by  men  situated  as  railroad 
managers  are. 


.ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".         77 

The  general  manager  of  a  railroad  is  burdened  with  a 
responsibility  which  others  cannot  share  with  him.  He 
may  invite  their  opinions,  but  if  he  acts  upon  them  he  must 
assume  them  as  his  own.  It  is  sometimes  difficult  for  him 
to  make  other  minds  comprehend  his  reasons  for  doing 
things  one  way  rather  than  another  ;  perhaps  there  are 
conflicting  conditions  so  nearly  balanced  that  his  decision 
is  rather  the  result  of  a  judgment  matured  by  long  ex- 
perience than  of  a  definite  reasoning  from  cause  to  effect. 
Only  a  man  of  positive  character  can  have  the  executive 
ability  requisite  for  such  a  position,  and  such  a  mind 
trained  in  this  way  tends  to  the  isolated  condition  to  which 
I  have  referred,  and  it  is  with  this  in  view  that  I  have  laid 
some  stress  upon  the  incidental  advantage  to  be  derived 
by  such  men  from  affiliation  with  their  peers  in  the  com- 
mittees and  in  the  meetings  of  our  Association. 

Though  I  speak  of  that  benefit  as  incidental  which  fol- 
lows from  the  interchange  of  conflicting  views  between 
railroad  managers,  I  do  not  mean  thereby  to  lessen  its  ad- 
vantage to  them  nor  its  value  to  the  interests  which  they 
represent. 

It  has  a  narrowing  effect  upon  any  man  to  go  by  him- 
self and  do  his  own  thinking,  and  this  is  eminently  true 
in  thinking  about  the  multifarious  aspects  of  railroad 
management.  One  man  cannot  know  it  all.  The  more 
earnest  he  is  the  more  probable  it  is  that  he  will  gradually 
draw  away  from  the  broad  road  along  which  the  consensus 
of  experience  is  guiding  his  fellows,  into  a  pathway  where 
he  is  neither  seen  himself  nor  can  see  what  others  are 
doing. 

It  is  particularly  unfortunate  when  a  railroad  manager 
follows  this  course  in  matters  which  involve  the  operations 
of  connecting  railroads  or  which  could  be  more  satisfacto- 
rily handled  in  concert  with  their  managers.  The  more 
extensive  the  railroad  system  entrusted  to  the  management 
of  one  man  the  greater  the  possibility  for  him  to  become 
isolated  in  the  way  that  I  have  described,  and  when  I  con- 


78  AMERICAiq^    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

sider  that  here,  in  this  great  city,  there  are  concentrated 
more  miles  of  railroad  under  the  management  of  fewer  men 
than  in  any  other  city  in  the  country,  it  seems  to  me  that 
this  is  the  proper  place  to  make  an  appeal  to  our  western 
members  to  increase  their  interest  in  our  work,  and  to  in- 
vite those  who  have  thus  far  held  aloof  to  come  with  us 
and  give  us  their  assistance  in  carrying  out  the  objects  for 
which  our  Association  has  been  formed. 

The  resources  thus  created  by  co-operation  are  available 
for  the  purposes  of  each  railroad  company  in  our  member- 
ship, and  any  one  of  you  who  will  call  to  mind  that  this 
membership  now  represents  a  mileage  of  128,000  miles, 
or  nearly  eighty  per  cent  of  the  total  mileage  in  this  coun- 
tr}',  can  perceive  what  strength  there  is  in  such  a  union, 
what  opportunity  for  mutual  profit  in  thus  standing 
together  for  the  common  welfare. 

The  tendency  of  the  social  forces  which  have  been  de- 
veloped under  our  present  form  of  civilization  is  toward 
co-operation.  Complain  of  it,  oppose  it,  legislate  against 
it,  but  it  is  in  vain,  for  this  is  a  characteristic  feature  of 
the  age  in  which  we  live.  Other  interests  recognize  it 
and  avail  themselves  of  it,  and  why  should  it  be  disre- 
garded by  the  most  important  interest  in  the  country — 
the  interest,  in  fact,  which  has  made  our  country  what 
it  is  ?  Competitors  though  railroad  companies  may  be  for 
traffic,  they  have  a  common  interest  in  securing  to  their 
patrons  the  best  service  and  to  their  stockholders  the  most 
economical  methods  of  operation.  These  are  the  objects 
for  which  we  have  associated  ourselves  together,  and 
which  can  be  most  surely  attained  through  such  co-opera- 
tion, for  what  is  the  effective  force  of  even  the  largest 
railroad  corporation  in  this  country  as  compared  with  the 
influence  exerted  by  an  associated  mileage  equal  to  that  of 
all  Europe  ? 

And  when  we  look  ahead  to  the  task  which  is  to  be 
undertaken  in  the  near  future  by  the  railroad  manage- 
ments of  this  country  they  may  well  call  on  each  other 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAIT    RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION^.         79 

to  rally  together  in  a  common  effort  to  accomplish  what 
will  be  expected  of  them. 

I  have  said  that  one  characteristic  tendency  of  the  age 
in  which  we  live  is  co-operation.  There  is  still  another — 
specialization — and  just  as  there  is  a  tendency  to  special- 
ize in  manufacturing  and  in  the  professions,  so  there  is  a 
tendency  to  specialize  in  the  operations  of  railroads. 

At  first  railroads  were  operated  with  mixed  trains,  then 
the  passenger  service  was  separated,  through  service  from 
local  service,  and  now  we  have  limited  or  suburban  pas- 
senger trains,  cattle  trains  and  perishables  and  refrigerator 
trains,  all  evidences  of  this  tendency  to  specialize  as  the 
traffic  increases  in  extent  and  becomes  more  diversified  in 
character.  But  it  is  not  alone  the  train  service  which  is 
thus  specialized;  the  time  comes  upon  roads  with  rapidly 
increasing  business  whenjthese  varieties  of  train  service 
cannot  be  all  conductedTupon^e  same  track,  and  we  see 
roads  double  tracked  to  separateUhe  trains  running  in  op- 
posite directions,  and  even  four-tracked  roads  to  separate 
the  passenger  from  the  freight  train  service.  This  separa- 
tion of  tracks,  as  well  as  trains,  has  not  reached  its  ulti- 
mate limit.  We  have  increased  the  capacity  of  our  freight 
cars,  the  number  of  car&  in  a  train  and  the  number  of 
trains  in  freight  service  as  well  as  in  passenger  service. 
On  most  of  our  roads  we  have  these  trains  running  along 
on  the  same  track  at  different  speeds.  We  are  abandon- 
ing the  effort  to  keep  these  trains  at  safe  distances  apart 
by  time  intervals,  and  are  adopting  space  intervals  instead. 
What  we  know  as  the  permissive  space  interval  we  feel 
must  be  superseded  by  the  absolute  space  interval.  The 
maintenance  of  this  space  interval  by  human  agency,  frail 
and  at  times  negligent,  is  being  replaced  by  automatic 
devices  which  neither  sleep  nor  forget.  With  more  fre- 
quent and  faster  trains  the  space  intervals  must  be  short- 
ened until  the  limit  is  reached  within  which  a  train  can 
be  stopped  on  signal,  and  yet  the  public  cries  for  more  ! 
For  more  speed  !     For  more  frequent  service  ! 


80  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

When  mechanical  engineers  speak  of  a  possible  speed 
of  a  hundred  miles  per  hour,  I  ask  myself  where  is  the 
railroad  upon  which  such  a  speed  can  be  maintained  for 
even  one  hour  at  a  time  ?  Is  there  such  a  road  in  exist- 
ence in  this  country  to-day  ?  This  may  well  be  termed 
"an  iridescent  dream"  of  the  engineeer  until  the  thor- 
oughfare has  been  provided  upon  which  it  can  be  realized. 
It  must  be  a  thoroughfare  indeed,  with  a  surface  like  a 
billiard  table,  without  grade-crossings,  with  frequent 
signals  protecting  the  train  absolutely  for  at  least  one  mile 
in  front  and  rear,  and  the  continuity  of  the  rails  in  that 
interval  likewise  secured  and  indicated  by  signal.  Gradi- 
ents and  curves  must  be  dominated  by  a  recognition  of  the 
rapidly  decreasing  ratio  of  efficiency  where  momentum 
is  one  factor  as  against  gravity  and  centrifugal  force. 
Where  is  there  such  a  road  in  -this  country  ?  A  road 
where  a  scheduled  passenger  train  speed  of  one  hundred 
miles  per  hour  can  be  maintained  for  one  hour  ?  You 
will  all  agree  with  me  in  saying  that  there  is  not  one.  And 
yet  the  theorists  are  demonstrating  that  it  is  possible,  the 
newspapers  are  spreading  the  news,  and  soon  the  public 
will  think  they  ought  to  have  it.  Once  they  get  that 
notion  well  fixed  in  their  minds  some  enterprising  mana- 
ger will  try  to  give  it  to  them,  and  then  others  will  follow 
suit.  But  as  none  of  you  have  the  ideal  road  for  such  ser- 
vice, you  will  do  in  the  future  as  you  have  done  in  the  past. 
You  will  eke  out  the  deficiencies  of  your  roadway  by 
drawing  upon  that  reserve  of  ingenuity  in  device  and  of 
fertility  of  resource  which  seems  to  spring  eternal  in  the 
brain  of  a  typical  railroad  man. 

And  it  is  not  alone  in  passenger  train  service  that  this 
increase  in  speed  will  be  demanded.  When  our  freight 
trains  can  be  operated  entirely  with  power  brakes  and 
vertical  hook  couplers,  what  an  improvement  there  will 
be  in  their  speed  also,  thus  increasing  the  complication 
in  which  your  service  is  to  be  involved  ! 

I  have  said  that  these  difficulties  are  to  be  solved  by 


\  ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN    KAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         81 

ingenuity  and  by  fertility  of  resource.  But  these  brain 
forces  must  have  material  substance  upon  which  to  act. 
You  cannot  throw  away  the  roads  that  you  have.  You 
must  make  them  better  fitted  for  the  new  service  de- 
manded of  them.  And  here  you  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  a  familiar  acquaintance — the  financial  bug- 
bear— where  is  the  money  to  come  from  ?  From  income 
account  ?  You  know  well  enough  what  it  is  to  have  to 
explain  an  increased  ratio  of  expenses  to  earnings,  and 
you  will  be  eager  for  a  betterment  account  to  be  pro- 
vided for  by  the  sale  of  bonds  or  stock  or  in  any  other 
way  except  by  a  charge  to  operating  expenses.  But  when 
you  shift  this  burden  from  your  own  shoulders  to  the 
broader  backs  of  the  president  and  board  of  directors, 
you  have  only  put  off  the  evil  day^or  yourselves,  for  with 
an  increased  bond  or  stock  acje^unFthere  must  come  a  like 
increase  in  surplus  available  for  fixed  x^harges  or  for  divi- 
dends. / 

That  accelerated  speed  means  improved  appliances, 
and  that  improved  appliances  mean  further  expenditure, 
which  means  the  necessity  for  greater  net  revenue,  is  a 
chain  of  reasoning  which,  with  men  of  your  experience, 
calls  for  no  argument.  To  reach  these  results  the  first 
necessity  is  money,  and  this  money  must  come  directly 
or  indirectly  from  those  who  are  to  be  benefited  by  the 
improved  service.  If  they  want  it  they  must  pay  for  it. 
And  here  you  must  appeal  to  the  traffic  department  for 
better  rates,  for  you  are  steadily  approaching  the  point 
at  which  the  unit  of  operating  cost  cannot  be  further 
reduced.  Steel  rails,  iron  bridges,  heavier  engines,  and 
cars  of  greater  capacity  have  yielded  up  to  you  most  of 
their  available  help.  What  remains  to  be  saved  in  that 
way  is  but  little.  There  is  yet  something  to  be  looked 
for  from  better  fuel  performance  and  from  the  preserva- 
tion of  crossties  and  timber,  but  otherwise  the  outlook 
for  decreasing  the  cost  per  train  mile  and  per  car  mile  is 
not  inviting,  unless  it  may  be  in  the  direction  of  better 


82  AMERICAN    RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

methods  and  of  better  discipline.  Here  we  are  again 
brought  in  contact  with  the  motto  of  the  American  Rail- 
way Association,  "  the  development  and  solution  of  prob- 
lems connected  with  railway  management  in  the  mutual 
interest  of  the  railway  companies  of  America."  Here 
we  have  the  two  characteristic  tendencies  of  our  times 
brought  together — specialization  and  co-operation,  and 
here  it  is  that  each  of  you  has  need  of  the  others  in  order 
that  what  is  lacking  in  money  to  meet  these  demands 
for  better  service  may  be  naade  good  by  your  joint  ex- 
perience and  ability  and  by  bringing  to  the  aid  of  the 
Association  the  ingenuity,  the  observation,  the  experi- 
mental research  which  is  possessed  by  the  staff  of  loyal, 
earnest  and  zealous  men  which  each  of  you  have  about 
you  and  from  among  whom  must  come  those  who  are  to  do 
your  work  when  you  have  gone. 

In  the  organization  of  our  association  there  is  oppor- 
tunity for  these  men  to  serve  on  our  standing  commit- 
tees, and  in  doing  our  work  they  are  also  serving  them- 
selves. 

Let  me  then  repeat  my  entreaties  that  you  should  one 
and  all  renew  your  interest  in  our  affairs,  that  you  should 
recognize  that  they  are  your  affairs, — affairs  of  as  great 
moment  to  the  corporations  which  you  represent  as  are 
the  matters  for  which  you  are  individually  responsible. 
Make  it  a  point  to  attend  the  meetings,  to  take  your 
part  in  the  committee  work.  Do  not  leave  a  few  men 
as  busy  as  yourselves  to  take  all  this  burden  for  your 
benefit.  Eespond  promptly  and  completely  to  the  cir- 
cular letters  calling  upon  you  for  information.  "When 
you  receive  a  telegram  calling  on  you  to  render  some 
special  assistance,  either  personally  or  otherwise,  give 
your  mind  to  it  and  see  that  the  help  is  given.  This 
is  the  sort  of  co-operation  that  is  wanted  to  make  our 
Association  fulfill  its  beneficial  purposes, — purposes  in 
which  the  welfare  of  the  traveler,  the  shipper,  the  em- 
ployee, the  official  and  the  stockholder  are  alike  involved. 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN^   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         83 

I  speak  from  experience  .as  to  the  good  which  the 
Association  has  done,  and  by  the  light  of  that  experience 
I  see  what  more  it  can  do  if  yon  will  be  but  true  to  your- 
selves and  to  your  companies  which  make  up  the  mem- 
bership. 

I  speak  thus  emphatically  because  I  am  about  to  retire 
from  the  honorable  position  which  I  have  now  held  for 
six  years.  While  I  have  given  during  that  time  much 
attention  to  your  affairs,  which  either  had  to  be  taken 
from  my  hours  of  labor  or  of  rest,  I  have  done  so  cheer- 
fully, because  of  the  willing  helpmates  who  surrounded 
me.  Not  only  as  your  presiding  officer,  but  also  as  an 
ex-officio  member  of  your  standing  committees,  I  have 
seen  how  these  men,  few  in  number,  have  carried  on  the 
work  of  the  Association.  It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  refer 
to  them  by  name.  You  have  seen  them  on  the  floor  at  our 
meetings,  their  reports  are  recorded  in  your  proceedings. 
To  them  you  are  indebted  for  Standard  Time  and  Stan- 
dard Eules,  for  uniformity  in  safety  appliances  and  for  car 
service  associations.  And  in  the  time  to  come  there  are 
yet  other  problems  for  them  to  solve  in  the  interest  of  bet- 
ter service  and  of  better  results.  Come,  then,  to  their  aid 
as  I  have  besought  you,  not  in  the  way  of  spasmodic  im- 
pulse, but  in  steady  all-the-year-round  support,  and  you 
will  find  that  in  the  American  Eailway  Association  you 
have  a  central  organization  which  can  be  made  not  only 
the  focus  for  the  dissemination  of  uniform  methods,  but 
also  when  necessary  a  rallying  point  for  mutual  protec- 
tion. 


84 


LABOR  OEGANIZATIONS. 

(October  11,  1893,  at  the  Auditorium,  Chicago,  111.) 

The  dominant  purpose  of  the  American  Eailway  Asso- 
ciation is  the  development  and  solution  of  problems  re- 
lating to  railroad  management  in  the  mutual  interest  of 
the  railway  companies  of  America.  Some  of  the  problems 
which  have  been  before  the  Association  it  has  solved 
definitely,  others  tentatively.  Some  of  them  were  capable 
of  but  one  solution,  others  have  presented  themselves  in 
different  aspects  according  to  the  point  of  view  and  varying 
with  the  current  of  events  and  of  opinions.  Those  which 
were  simple  and  urgent  it  attempted  first,  but  with  in- 
creasing experience  and  with  improved  methods,  and  per- 
haps encouraged  by  the  favorable  reception  accorded  to  its 
work,  it  has  gradually  broadened  its  scope  to  include  yet 
graver  questions  of  management  and  of  operation.  Such 
a  subject  is  now  engaging  its  attention  in  the  establish- 
ment and  endorsement  of  proper  rules  and  signals  for 
block  signals  and  for  interlocking  switches,  and  the  ex- 
pectant attitude  of  those  interested  indicates  the  impor- 
tance which  is  now  attached  to  its  conclusions.  This  fact 
is  appreciated  by  the  members  of  the  Joint  Committee 
which  has  the  matter  in  hand.  It  has  intensified  their 
sense  of  responsibility  and  their  anxiety  that  their  report 
should  be  adequate  to  our  expectations.  It  has  been  usual 
with  our  committees  in  the  investigation  of  any  subject  to 
ascertain  the  practice  of  c^ch  member  of  the  Association 
and  then  to  recommend  that  course  which  corresponds  to 
the  generally  prevailing  opinion.  But  in  this  particular 
matter  something  more  has  seemed  to  be  necessary. 
There  has  been  occasion  to  harmonize  conflicting  views, 
to   clear  away  by  discussion  and  debate  differing  con- 


ADDRESS  Els,  AMERICA^   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.        85 

ceptions  as  to  fundamental  principles,  and,  as  the  subject 
developed,  it  became  evident  that  the  whole  question 
would  have  to  be  treated  more  with  reference  to  what 
would  be  required  in  the  immediate  future  than  to  what 
had  been  the  practice  in  the  past. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  forestall  the  report  of  the 
Joint  Committee,  nor  to  outline  its  purposes,  but  rather 
to  impress  upon  you  the  difficulties  it  has  had  to  encounter 
in  the  development  of  the  problem  which  it  is  expected 
to  solve.  For  the  development  of  a  problem  is  a  process 
necessary  to  its  solution,  and  if  a  fault  confessed  is  half 
remedied,  so  a  problem  developed  is  half  solved. 

Something  of  this  idea  I  have  had  in  mind  in  thinking 
over  certain  problems  connected  with  railroad  manage- 
ment which  are  still  ahead  of  us,  and  not  so  far  ahead 
of  us  either  but  that  they  are  looming  up  before  us, 
assuming  portentous  magnitude.  Concerning  one  of 
them  I  propose  to  speak  to  you  to-day  ;  one  which  a  few 
years  ago  could  only  be  mentioned  with  bated  breath  in 
official  circles,  but  which  now  is  not  merely  in  our  minds, 
but  on  our  tongues,  so  that  I  feel  that  no  further  apology 
is  required  in  introducing  the  subject  here. 

That  problem  is  the  proper  attitude  of  railroad  corpora- 
tions toward  labor  organizations,  and  that  I  may  speak 
my  mind  freely,  I  will  remind  you  that  I  am  speaking  for 
myself  and  not  as  an  official  representative  of  this  Associa- 
tion. I  will  speak  the  more  freely,  because  I  reserve  the 
privilege  of  modifying  hereafter  the  views  that  I  may  now 
express.  For  this  is  one  of  those  problems  to  which  I 
have  already  referred  as  presenting  themselves  in  different 
aspects,  according  to  the  point  of  view  and  varying  with 
the  current  of  events  and  of  opinions.  It  is  also  one  not 
to  be  handled  gingerly  and  timorously,  if  it  is  to  be  treated 
instructively,  but  it  must  be  grasped  firmly  as  one  would 
grasp  a  thistle  to  prevent  unnecessary  irritation.  And  I 
shall  devote  myself  rather  to  the  development  than  to  the 
solution  of  this  problem. 


86  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMEKT. 

It  is  not  a  novel  one  in  its  elementary  features.  It  is 
no  new  thing  for  the  workman  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
terms  and  conditions  of  his  service.  Such  dissatisfaction 
dates  back  to  the  time  when  the  Israelites  refused  to  make 
bricks  for  the  Egyptians  without  straw.  But  those  were 
slaves,  and  so  the  workingmen  continued  to  be  slaves  down 
to  the  middle  ages,  when  in  France  and  England  they  re- 
volted against  their  oppressors,  to  be  put  down  by  force. 
It  was  only  through  violence  and  turmoil  that  they  ob- 
tained some  measures  of  relief,  and  the  artisan  and  the 
laborer  continued  in  a  more  or  less  pronounced  condition 
of  servitude,  even  in  the  most  civilized  countries  of  Europe, 
until  the  last  restraints  of  bondage  were  consumed  in  the 
fires  of  the  French  revolution.  Those  who  would  harshly 
criticise  the  efforts  of  European  workmen  to  join  in  meas- 
ures of  self-protection  should  not  forget  the  centuries  of 
wrongs  which  they  had  to  endure.  Because  they  have 
been  greatly  sinned  against  much  must  be  forgiven  to 
them.  But  it  may  be  asked  what  has  all  this  to  do  with 
this  country  ?  Workingmen  here  have  never  had  to  pass 
through  such  ordeals  or  to  submit  to  such  oppression.  In- 
deed they  have  not,  and  it  was  to  mark  this  very  contrast 
that  I  have  emphasized  the  conditions  through  which 
the  workingman  has  had  to  pass  in  Europe.  If  ever  there 
was  a  country  in  which  the  sons  of  toil  have  enjoyed  the 
fruits  of  their  labor  unrestricted  by  any  law  that  did  not 
bear  with  equal  force  upon  their  fellow-citizens,  it  is  this 
country  of  ours.  In  fact,  I  will  say  that  there  has  never 
been  such  another.  And  therefore,  when  we  come  to  dis- 
cussing the  relations  of  the  employer  and  the  employed, 
of  the  man  who  works  and  of  the  man  who  pays  him — we 
have  not  to  overcome  or  to  forget  the  prejudices,  the  pas- 
sions, the  bitter  recollections  of  centuries  of  oppression  re- 
sented by  violence,  which  complicate  and  embarrass  the  ad- 
justment of  such  relations  across  the  ocean.  We  have  here 
to  look  upon  it  as  but  a  business  issue  between  men  who  are 
by  birth  and  by  law  the  equals  of  each  other  in  all  respects 


ADDEESSES,  AMERICAl^   RAILWAY   ASSOClATIOi^^.        87 

SO  far  as  they  are  alike  honest  and  disposed  to  deal  fairly. 
Even  in  the  matter  of  compensation  for  service  performed 
there  is  no  further  obligation  than  on  the  one  hand  to  do 
that  which  was  to  be  done,  and  on  the  other  to  pay 
that  which  was  to  be  paid.  When  these  two  things  have 
been  fairly  accomplished  the  reciprocal  obligation  has 
been  discharged,  and  there  is  no  favor  on  either  side.  This 
is  the  underlying  relation  of  labor  and  capital  in  this 
country,  of  the  employer  and  the  employee,  and  it 
seems  so  simple  where  it  is  not  mixed  up  withhold  world 
prejudices  and  memories,  that  one  is  inclined  to  wonder 
why  there  should  be  so  much  difficulty  in  adjusting  so 
simple  a  matter  ;  why  it  has  come  to  the  front  as  one  of 
the  spectres  at  the  banquet  which  will  not  down  at  any 
one's  bidding.  The  difficulty  arises  in  adjusting  the 
terms  and  conditions  upon  which  the  service  is  to  be  per- 
formed. When  differences  arose  as  to  these  matters,  they 
at  first  assumed  the  form  of  mutterings  of  dissatisfaction  on 
the  part  of  the  employee  which  were  disregarded  by  the  em- 
ployer. Then  the  mutterers  joined  in  a  chorus  which 
found  full  voice  in  a  committee  specially  chosen  to  appeal 
to  the  employer.  Here  the  employer  threw  the  first  stone. 
He  resented  the  attempt  to  unite  in  complaint  by  dis- 
charging the  leaders ;  the  strongest  or  the  loudest,  at  any 
rate  the  foremost,  among  the  workmen.  What  was  left 
to  them  but  to  prolong,  to  intensify,  the  agitation  for  self- 
protection  and  to  retort  upon  the  aggressive  employer  by 
organizing  a  strike.  The  strike  was  answered  by  a  lock- 
out, and  the  response  was  a  boycott.  These  efforts  at  or- 
ganization among  workmen  were  temporary  and  disorderly. 
As  passions  were  aroused  by  opposition,  the  leaders  lost 
control,  the  outside  mob  took  charge  of  the  situation, 
which  passed  from  a  dispute  into  a  riot.  At  this  point 
when  public  quiet  was  disturbed,  "the  representatives  of 
public  order  interfered  and  peace  was  enforced. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  leaders  of  the  better  paid  trades 
that  they  soon  recognized  the  folly  of  such  a  course  and 


88  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMEKT. 

-» 

directed  themselves  to  organizing  permanent  associations, 
efficiently  regulated  and  controlled  and  prepared  for  strikes 
by  accumulated  assessments.  For  after  they  were  thus 
organized  they  were  able  to  oppose  an  orderly  refusal  to 
work  to  the  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  employer  to  yield  to 
their  terms.  A  strike  under  such  conditions  was  not  a 
breach  of  the  peace,  and  the  strong  arm  of  the  law  could 
not  be  wielded  against  their  cause.  The  only  alternative 
was  a  lockout,  and  the  pitched  battle  was  superseded  by 
the  blockade.  This  gave  time  for  heated  passions  to  cool 
and  for  reason  to  resume  its  sway.  Hence  violent 
measures  were  replaced  by  discussions  in  which  the 
arguments  on  each  side  could  be  heard  by  the  other  and 
a  foundation  laid  for  a  compromise.  A  point  had  been 
reached  in  the  adjustment  of  the  relations  between  the  em- 
ployee and  the  employer  at  which  the  terms  and  con- 
ditions of  service  could  be  determined  by  contract.  This 
is  exemplified  in  the  iron  trades,  where  the  scale  of  wages 
is  established  by  committees  from  both  sides,  in  which  the 
state  of  the  market,  present  and  prospective,  the  financial 
outlook  and  even  political  theories  are  taken  into  consider- 
ation. It  is  truly  a  rational  method,  affording  full  scope 
for  the  exercise  of  judgment,  experience  and  persuasion 
in  arriving  at  a  conclusion.  But  if  wilful  perversity  or 
ignorant  selfishness  prevail  in  the  councils  of  either  side, 
the  strike  or  the  lockout  must  be  renewed.  This  dilemma 
admits  of  but  one  solution — the  submission  of  one  party 
to  the  demands  of  the  other.  An  alternative  solution 
could  be  found  in  arbitration  but  for  the  difficulty  in 
enforcing  the  finding  of  the  arbitrator.  As  yet  the  lawyers 
do  not  look  kindly  on  arbitration,  and  the  law  does  not 
lend  itself  readily  to  such  an  invasion  of  its  jurisdiction. 
And  again,  while  one  party,  the  employer,  is  a  substantial 
fact,  a  person  or  a  corporation  that  the  law  can  reach, 
the  other  party  to  the  arbitration  is  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other.  It  is  an  irresponsible  organization,  invisible  to  the 
sheriff,  against  which  no  judgment  will  lie  and  upon  its 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".        89 

assets  no  levy  can  be  made.  To  this  point,  then,  the  de- 
velopment of  this  question  has  been  reached,  that  the  ad- 
justment of  the  relations  between  the  employee  and  the 
employer  is  recognized  on  both  sides  as  a  matter  in  which 
the  terms  and  conditions  of  employment  can  be  made  the 
subjects  of  an  agreement ;  the  means  for  arriving  at  such 
an  agreement  are  at  hand  and  are  understood.  If  an 
agreement  can  be  reached,  well  and  good.  If  the  oppos- 
ing parties  cannot  agree,  no  third  party  can  intervene 
effectively  ;  there  is  no  way  out  but  by  passing  under  the 
yoke  of  submission.  This  is  the  situation  asipresented  to 
us  to-day,  and  which  we  must  recognize  if  we/seek  to  solve 
the  problem  which  I  have  stated  to  be  the  proper  attitude 
of  railroad  corporations  towards  labor  organizations.  It 
is  a  division  of  the  subject  of  the  relations  of  capital  and 
labor  which  covers  only  one  portion  of  the  whole  field,  but 
a  portion  which  is  characterized  by  conditions  peculiar  to 
itself. 

Industrial  enterprises  in  general  are  engaged  in  the 
production  of  articles  or  materials  to  be  consumed  by  man- 
kind, they  are  manufacturing  or  mining  enterprises  ; 
their  undertakings  are  of  a  private  character  ;  their  affairs 
are  their  own  business  and  concern  no  one  else  so  long 
as  they  are  conducted  in  a  lawful  way.  If  one  shoe  fac- 
tory, or  cotton  mill,  or  iron  furnace  is  closed — whether 
from  want  of  orders  or  from  disagreement  between  the 
owners  and  their  employees,  it  is  not  a  matter  affecting  the 
public  welfare.  Their  customers  can  go  elsewhere  for 
shoes,  or  cotton  goods,  or  iron  wares. 

But  railroa.d  corporations  are  not,  primarily,  manu- 
facturers or  miners.  They  produce  no  articles  for  sale. 
They  are  carriers  by  land  for  hire,  just  as  the  wagoner 
or  the  carriage  driver  is,  but  with  the  further  difference 
that  in  return  for  the  exercise  of  the  sovereign  power  in 
their  behalf  they  are  bound  to  a  public  service  which  they 
cannot  evade.  They  are  engaged,  by  day  and  night,  in 
the  constant  performance  of  a  personal  service  to  each 


90  AMERICAK  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

passenger  who  travels  and  to  each  shipper  of  freight. 
They  have,  too,  a  special  contract  with  the  Post-office  De- 
partment affecting  everyone  who  reads  a  newspaper  or 
writes  a  letter. 

With  this  public  burden  to  carry,  an  obligation  essen- 
tial to  their  corporate  existence,  they  are  at  a  disadvantage 
when  they  come  to  trying  conclusions  with  their  em- 
ployees. The  lockout  is  forbidden  to  them  as  a  measure 
of  defence.  They  can  neither  close  up  their  stations  nor 
stop  their  trains.  If  the  railroad  management  cannot 
agree  with  the  men  as  to  the  terms  and  conditions  of  its 
employment,  it  must,  at  its  peril,  find  competent  men  to 
replace  them  and  in  numbers  sufficient  to  maintain  its 
service  without  inconvenience  to  its  patrons.  The  public 
will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less,  and  so  long  as  the  men 
abstain  from  violence,  the  corporation  and  its  representa- 
tives are  alone  held  to  account  by  the  laws,  by  the  many 
persons  inconvenienced  and  by  the  newspapers.  Under 
such  a  pressure,  what  wonder  that  railroad  managers  yield 
to  demands  to  which  their  judgment  does  not  give  assent, 
or  that  employees  gain  from  each  successful  step  the  as- 
surance of  submission  to  yet  further  demands  ?  And 
when  may  we  expect  these  demands  to  cease  ?  Are  they 
to  be  limited  only  by  the  desires  of  those  who  are  in  a 
position  to  enforce  them  ?  There  is  another  limit,  the 
financial  ability  of  the  corporations  to  satisfy  them. 

The  percentage  of  pay-rolls  to  operating  expenses  has 
been  constantly  increasing,  and  this  is  the  cause  of  the  in- 
creasing percentage  of  expenses  to  earnings.  It  is  stated 
that  in  the  division  of  gross  earnings  the  employee  receives 
four  times  as  much  as  the  stockholder  does.  In  1891  less 
than  one-fourth  of  the  railroad  stock  received  as  much 
as  5  per  cent.,  and  over  60  per  cent,  received  nothing.  Is 
there  any  hope  of  a  change  for  the  better  ?  Not  until  the 
rate  per  ton  mile  increases  or  the  cost  per  ton  mile  de- 
creases. In  what  direction  can  any  of  you  here  present 
look  for  a  considerable  reduction  in  operating  expenses  ? 


ADDRESSES,  AMEiRICAN  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.        91 

Will  you  use  fewer  cross-ties  or  buy  less  rails  or  burn  less 
coal  ?  No  !  You  cannot  find  relief  in  this  direction  ;  you 
are  dealing  with  physical  conditions  which  you  cannot 
control.  You  know  that  you  can  only  reduce  expenses 
by  decreasing  your  pay-rolls.  This  you  must  do.  And 
how  do  you  do  it  ?  By  reducing  train  service,  to  the  pub- 
lic inconvenience  ;  by  postponing  repairs  of  equipment, 
which  is  only  putting  off  the  evil  day  ;  by  postponing 
much  needed  improvements.  Anything,  except  a  re- 
duction of  the  rates  of  pay.  You  may  discharg^  or  sus- 
pend nien  by  the  hundreds,  depriving  their  families  of 
their  daily  bread,  but  you  dare  not  distribute  the  burden 
among  all  your  employees.  You  shrink  from  the  unequal 
contest,  and  well  you  may.  Experience  has  taught  you 
that  you  have  to  meet  a  well-organized  foe,  handled  by 
experienced  and  astute  leaders,  to  whom  implicit  obedience 
is  given,  and  with  whom  public  opinion  will  side  so  long 
as  it  is  not  violently  repelled.  On  your  side  you  have  a 
public  service  to  perform,  completely  and  unreservedly, 
under-  circumstances  which,  in  case  of  strike,  will  strain 
you  mentally  and  physically  to  the  utmost,  and  in  the 
background  a  board  of  directors  sensitive  to  public  criti- 
cism, and  perhaps  personally  interested  in  stock  specula- 
tions. Under  such  conditions  the  ordinary  man  will  fol- 
low the  line  of  least  resistance,  and  refrain  from  doing 
that  which  his  judgment  recommends  and  justice  demands 
— to  make  the  reduction  in  wages  bear  in  like  proportion 
on  all,  or,  if  favoring  any,  to  favor  those  who  receive  the  least. 
But  this  you  will  not  do.  The  reduction  which  must  be 
made  falls  on  those  who  are  least  able  to  resist,  because 
they  are  without  organization,  upon  clerks  and  track-men 
and  unskilled  laborers.  I  am  not  criticising  you  unkindly 
for  this.  I  am  stating  a  fact  which  you  know  to  be  true 
as  well  as  they  do,  and  you  do  this  because  you  can  find  no 
other  relief.  But  as  time  goes  on  these  classes  of  em- 
ployees, spurred  to  it  by  their  own  misfortunes  and  by  wit- 
nessing the  advantages  which  others  have  gained  by  or- 


93  AMEKICAK   KAILWAY   HAKAGEMEKT. 

ganization,  will  organize  themselves.  Then  where  will 
the  axe  of  retrenchment  fall.  That  will  be  for  you  to 
determine,  and  you  will  be  brought  face  to  face  with  that 
problem,  if  the  decrease  in  the  rate  per  ton  mile  is  to  con- 
tinue. You  must  appeal  to  the  traffic  management  to  re- 
frain from  that  foolish  competition  which  ignores  the  cost 
of  the  service  performed,  and  not  until  they  recognize  the 
necessity  for  so  doing  may  you  hope  to  arrest  this  crisis 
toward  which  the  most  of  our  railroad  mileage  is  tending, 
and  which,  when  it  does  come,  falls  upon  those  responsible 
for  the  operations  of  the  road.  If  they  will  not  heed  to 
your  appeals,  then  you  should  plainly  put  the  matter  be- 
fore your  executive  officers,  and  place  the  responsibility 
where  it  belongs.  It  is  a  matter  in  which  you  should 
make  common  cause,  those  who  are  managing  prosperous 
roads  as  well  as  those  who  are  not,  for  sooner  or  later  you 
will  all  have  to  drink  of  the  same  bitter  cup  if  measures 
be  not  taken  in  time  to  avoid  it.  Having  developed  my 
problem  to  its  last  bitter  elements,  I  may  be  expected  to 
suggest  a  solution,  but  it  is  one  thing  to  develop  a  problem 
and  another  to  solve  it.  The  one  is  laying  open  the 
hidden  cause  of  disease,  the  other  is  to  apply  the  proper 
remedy.  The  one  needs  but  a  knowledge  of  the  anatomy 
of  the  subject  and  a  steady  hand  ;  the  other  requires  a 
power  of  forecast,  of  following  out  the  probable  results 
of  possible  policies,  which  is  given  to  few  men,  whether 
surgeons  or  railroad  administrators. 

What,  then,  I  may  offer  in  the  way  of  a  solution  is 
presented  with  less  confidence  than  has  sustained  me  in 
the  development  of  this  subject.  While  as  to  the  one  I 
might  withstand  adverse  criticism,  as  to  the  other  I 
should  be  disposed  to  yield.  But  I  think  that  there  are 
certain  conditions  afPecting  the  attitude  of  railroad  cor- 
porations to  labor  organizations  which  are  of  so  peculiar 
a  character  as  to  separate  this  branch  of  the  subject  from 
those  relating  to  ordinary  industrial  enterprises.  It  is 
not    a    matter    of    manufacturing,    selling    and    buying 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  •  ASSOCIATION.        93 

goods.  It  is  a  matter  of  performing  a  public  service 
continuously,  safely  and  with  dispatch,  a  service  which 
affects  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  land  to  such 
an  extent  that  railroad  transportation  is  properly  looked 
upon  as  a  question  of  public  welfare,  a  matter  which 
has  been  aided  by  the  sovereign  power  by  loans  and 
donations,  by  special  legislation  and  by  the  exercise  of 
the  right  of  eminent  domain.  In  return  for  this  j  aid  the 
corporations  are  burdened  with  obligations  which  they 
cannot  evade  and  which  render  them  powerless  to  resist 
the  demands  of  their  employees  when  efficiently  organ- 
ized. To  the  demands  of  these  organizations  neither  the 
laws  nor  public  opinion  set  any  limits  so  long  as  they 
are  not  enforced  by  violence.  Yet  there  is  a  public 
demand  for  lower  rates  which  the  traffic  officials  do  not 
firmly  resist. 

The  decrease  in  the  rate  per  ton  mile  and  the  increase 
in  the  cost  per  ton  mile  cannot  go  on  together  indefi- 
nitely, one  or  the  other  must  cease.  Either  it  is  to  the 
public  interest  to  have  cheaper  rates  and  lower  wages  or 
to  have  higher  wages  and  dearer  rates. 

The  public  interest  lies  in  better  and  safer,  rather  than 
in  cheaper  service,  and  a  minute  advance  in  the  charge 
for  that  service,  an  advance  so  small  that  if  divided 
among  the  millions  of  transactions  for  which  the  cor- 
poration is  paid  would  yield  a  fund  sufficient  to  insure 
fair  wages  to  every  railroad  employee  and  reasonable 
dividends  to  every  stockholder.  For  both  stockholder 
and  employee  are  paid  from  the  same  fund,  and  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  the  railroad  system  of  this  country 
can  be  extended  to  meet  the  demands  of  a  growing 
country  and  increasing  numbers  of  employees  continue 
to  receive  full  wages  unless  capital  so  invested  has  a 
prospect  of  a  reasonable  return. 

But  if  this  were  recognized  as  reasonable,  that  the 
compensation  should  be  sufficient  for  fair  wages  and  for 
reasonable   dividends,   what  has  the   public   a   right   to 


94  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

expect  ?  Certainly  that  the  service  shall  be  continuous 
and  efficient,  that  it  shall  not  be  interrupted  by  disputes 
between  employer  and  employee.  It  may  with  justice 
insist  upon  a  rational  adjustment  of  such  differences, 
and  if  a  way  can  be  pointed  out  by  which  it  can  with 
propriety  intervene,  its  assistance  might  be  counted  on 
for  ^Tch  a  purpose. 

The  proper  way  to  adjust  such  differences  is  by  agree- 
ment, by  an  agreement  between  contracting  parties,  com- 
petent and  responsible.  As  to  the  competency  and  re- 
sponsibility of  one  party,  the  railroad  company,  there  is 
no  doubt,  but  as  to  the  other,  the  employee,  he  as  an 
individual  possesses  neither  qualification.  As  well  stand 
on  the  river's  brink  and  seek  to  enter  into  an  agreement 
with  the  current  swiftly  flowing  by,  a  constant  succes- 
sion of  drops  of  water,  as  to  make  a  contract  with  a 
changing  force  of  men,  coming  and  going  as  each  sees  fit. 

The  very  organization  which  they  have  made  for  self- 
protection  may  be  made  the  means  for  enforcing  their 
contract  obligations.  To  this  end,  they  should  be  duly 
incorporated  under  such  restrictions  as  will  ensure  their 
legal  competency  to  contract  on  behalf  of  their  members. 
•The  responsibility  for  keeping  these  contracts  will  then 
rest  with  their  incorporated  organizations,  which  can,  by 
assessment,  accumulate  a  fund  that  can  be  invested  safely 
where  it  can  be  reached  in  a  suit  for  damages  for  breach  of 
contract.  There  will  then  be  no  voluntary  arbitration,  to 
be  viewed  askance  by  bench  and  bar,  but  the  same  legal 
procedure  will  be  available  to  secure  an  observance  of  con- 
tract relations  between  railroad  corporations  and  work- 
men's corporations  that  apply  to  other  business  contracts. 
The  legal  recognition  of  such  agreements  will  be  a  great 
step  toward  the  preservation  of  harmonious  relations  be- 
tween the  two  parties  and  the  assurance  to  the  public  of 
uninterrupted  railroad  service. 

A  failure  to  agree  upon  the  terms  of  a  mutually  satis- 
factory contract  would  still  be  possible,  but  only  in  th^ 


ADDEESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         95 

event  that  the  employees  of  each  class  were  able  to  com- 
bine in  single  corporations.  Past  experience  leads  ns  to 
believe  that  this  could  not  be  done,  that  either  from  per- 
sonal ambition  or  from  other  causes  there  would  be  in- 
dependent corporations  of  workingmen  that  would  com- 
pete for  contracts  with  desirable  railroad  corporations, 
and  that  in  this  way  it  would  always  be  practicable  to 
arrive  at  an  agreement  with  one  or  another. 

The  terms  and  conditions  which  should  enter  into  such 
agreements  I  will  not  at  this  time  undertake  to  discuss. 
Whatever  they  may  be,  the  public  interest  and  conven- 
ience will  always  claim  consideration  in  preparing  them 
if  public  opinion  and  the  laws  are  to  aid  in  enforcing 
them.  As  I  have  said,  it  has  been  my  purpose  in  these 
remarks  to  devote  myself  rather  to  a  statement  of  the 
issues  involved  than  to  a  solution  of  them.  In  doing  this 
I  have  endeavored  to  take  into  account  the  principal 
factors  which  should  be  included  and  to  propose  a  course 
in  treating  them  which  will  not  run  counter  to  that 
spirit  of  co-operation  that  pervades  the  present  era,  and 
which  we  may  expect  to-  become  still  more  influential  in 
determining  the  destiny  of  our  American  railway  system 
as  well  as  of  our  country. 


96  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAl^AGEMENT. 


OPERATING  EXPENSES  OF  A  RAILROAD. 

(April  11,  1894,  at  Hotel  Brunswick,  New  York.) 

The  inventions  and  improvements  in  colliery  tramways 
which  made  railroads  available  for  public  use  originated 
with  practical  mechanics,  and  gave  such  prominence  to 
the  profession  of  engineering  that  in  those  early  days 
engineers  alone  were  selected  as  railroad  managers.  The 
general  acceptance  of  railroads  as  common  carriers  led 
to  such  a  recognition  of  the  importance  of  the  art  of 
transportation  by  rail  that  men  who  evinced  an  aptitude 
for  handling  trains  successfully  then  became  in  demand 
as  managers.  With  the  increase  in  the  number  of  rail- 
roads the  competitive  traffic  virtually  overshadowed  the 
difficult  problems  in  construction  and  transportation 
which  had  given  value  to  the  successful  engineer  and 
transportation  official,  and  as  the  traffic  manager  got 
nearer  to  those  who  controlled  competitive  shipments  his 
importance  increased  with  the  board  of  directors. 

In  the  desire  to  augment  the  published  gross  earnings 
by  a  larger  volume  of  business  the  experience  and  the 
information  pertaining  to  the  science  of  engineering  and 
to  the  art  of  transportation  have  been  somewhat  dis- 
regarded. It  has  been  assumed  that  so  long  as  the  gross 
earnings  are  maintained  or  increased,  the  standard  pro 
rata  of  expenses  to  earnings  should  not  only  be  main- 
tained but  even  diminished,  and  that  the  cost  of  the  ser- 
vice should  be  reduced  with  the  reduction  in  the  rate 
charged  for  it.  The  efforts  to  take  away  each  other's 
business  have  been  pursued  with  such  zeal  and  ingenuity 
that  the  surplus  revenue  can  no  longer  furnish  the  means 
for  improvement  nor  for  liberal  operation  except  by  a 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAI^   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".         97 

reduction  of  the  dividend  fund.  The  matter  of  pressing 
moment  is  to  eke  out  the  dividend  from  the  fund  set  apart 
for  operating  expenses,  and  it  has  therefore  seemed  to  me 
that  a  timely  topic  for  my  address  to-day  would  be  the 
reduction  of  expenses  in  railroad  operation. 

In  discussing  the  reduction  of  expenses  we  must  keep 
in  view  the  distinction  between  the  expenditures  made 
for  performing  the  service  of  transportation  and  for 
maintaining  the  property  in  present  condition,  that  is  the 
ordinary  expense  account,  and  those  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  improving  the  condition  of  the  property  or  for 
increasing  its  capacity  to  perform  the  service  of  trans- 
portation, that  is  the  extraordinary  expense  or  improve- 
ment account.  The  responsibility  of  the  railroad  man- 
ager is  different  with  respect  to  these  two  classes  of  ex- 
penses. He  is  not  bound  to  give  the  public  improved 
service  at  the  expense  of  his  stockholders,  though  it  is 
plainly  his  duty  to  give  safe  service.  He  must  not  seek 
economy  at  the  expense  of  safety.  To  a  certain  extent 
he  can  economize  with  a  decrease  in  traffic  by  a  diminu- 
tion in  the  number  of  trains,  and  the  expenditure  for 
freight  handling  may  be  somewhat  reduced  with  de- 
creased tonnage,  though  the  expenses  which  fluctuate 
with  train  mileage  and  with  tonnage  constitute  a  rela- 
tively small  portion  of  the  total  operating  expenses,  and 
outside  of  train  service  and  freight  handling  the  general 
service  can  be  but  little  diminished  with  the  diminution 
of  traffic  in  a  period  of  temporary  depression.  But  when 
the  same  tonnage  is  handled  at  reduced  rates  the  same 
work  must  be  done,  that  is,  if  the  road  is  ordinarily 
operated  with  due  regard  for  economy  ;  but  less  money 
must  be  paid  for  doing  it.  When  it  comes  to  doing  the 
same  work  for  less  money,  the  reduction  must  be  made 
by  paying  less  for  men  or  materials,  or  for  both.  This 
reduction  will  at  first  be  made  in  quantity  as  far  as  that 
is  practicable.  You  will  reduce  your  force  and  your 
stock  of  supplies,    But  when  the  minimum  has  been 


98  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

reached,  below  which  the  standard  of  efficiency  would 
be  impaired,  then  any  further  reductions  must  affect  the 
pay  of  the  men  and  the  prices  of  the  supplies.  Naturally, 
we  leave  the  wages  until  the  last,  and  seek  to  bear  down 
the  cost  of  the  supplies.  This  cannot  be  carried  very  far 
without  affecting  their  quality,  and  it  is  a  matter  which 
comes  of  long  experience  and  of  intimate  acquaintance 
with  their  manufacture  to  be  able  to  determine  whether 
the  reduction  in  prices  has  not  been  attained  by  such  a 
reduction  in  quality  as  substantially  to  make  the  lower 
priced  article  dearer  than  that  for  which  a  higher  price 
is  asked. 

But,  when  you  have  reached  your  limit  in  reducing  your 
force  and  in  cheapening  your  supplies,  you  have  but  one 
other  direction  in  which  to  seek  still  further  economy,  and 
that  is  in  a  reduction  of  wages.  How  will  you  do  it  ?  Will 
you  insist  upon  a  horizontal  reduction  of  so  much  per  cent.  ? 
Or  will  you  make  the  percentage  of  reduction  decrease 
with  the  rate  of  pay  ?  Every  step  that  you  take  will  meet 
with  opposition  from  those  that  are  to  be  hurt  by  it,  and 
where  such  opposition  can  be  strongly  organized  you  will 
be  tempted  to  ease  up  in  that  direction  and  to  lay  a  heavier 
load  on  those  who  cannot  offer  so  much  resistance. 

The  principal  considerations  then  in  an  enforced  re- 
duction of  expenses  are  to  determine  the  extent  to  which 
such  a  reduction  can  be  applied  as  between  men  and 
materials,  and  the  fairest  way  of  applying  a  reduction  to 
men's  wages. 

About  two  thirds  of  the  ordinary  operating  expense 
account  go  to  salaries  and  wages,  the  remaining  third  is 
applied  to  supplies,  implements  and  all  other  items  which 
may  be  briefly  termed  materials.  I  will  endeavor  to 
illustrate  by  an  example  the  effect  of  such  a  reduction  on 
a  road  500  miles  long  with  gross  earnings  of  $6,000  per 
mile,  which  is  perhaps  an  average  example  of  the  length 
and  earnings  of  a  railroad  in  this  country,  and  will 
assume  that  such  a  road  would  ordinarily  be  operated  with 


ADDE ESSES,  AMERIGAiq-   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.         99 

economy  at  66  per  cent,  of  the  gross  earnings.  We  would 
then  have  a  road  with 

Gross  earnings,  say  of $3,000,000 

Operating  expenses 2,000,000 

Surplus 11,000,000 

Now  with  gross  earnings  reduced  10  per  cent.,  or  $300,000, 
the  manager  would  be  expected  still  to  operate  it  for  66 
per  cent,  which  would  be  as  follows: 

Gross  earnings,  say $2,700,000 

Operating  expenses,  say 1,800,000 

Surplus $900,000 

This  would  be  a  uniform  decrease  of  10  per  cent,  in  gross 
earnings  in  the  fund  for  operations,  and  in  that  fund  also 
from  which  fixed  charges  and  dividends  are  to  be  paid. 

The  manager  would  then  have  to  decide  how  to  reduce 
kis  expense  account  from  $2,000,000  to  $1,800,000.  As 
wages  constitute  about  two  thirds  of  the  total  cost  of  op- 
eration, two  thirds  of  the  reduction  should  be  made  from 
wages,  and  the  other  third  from  what  I  have  termed 
materials.  The  division  of  this  10  per  cent,  reduction 
would  then  be  as  follows  : 

Wages  reduced  from $1,334,000  to  $1,200,000 

Materials,  etc.,  from  666,000  to      600,000 

Total,  from $2,000,000  to  $1,800,000 

But  if  you  will  classify  the  items  which  are  not  wages 
you  will  find  that  some  of  them  you  cannot  reduce,  be- 
cause they  are  not  under  your  control.  For  example  : 
there  are  legal  expenses,  insurance,  injury  to  persons  and 
property,  bridge  material,  cross-ties,  rails,  frogs  and 
switches,  fuel,  car  mileage  balances,  loss  and  damage  to 
freight,  and  other  items  which  will  also  occur  to  you.  But 
considering  only  those  which  I  have  enumerated,  one 
fourth  of  the  total  cost  of  operations  is  for  items  that 
you  cannot  touch,  and  the  reduction  of  10  per  cent,  in 


100  AMERICA^N^    RAILWAY    MANAGEMEI^T. 

the  total  cost  of  operations  must  fall  upon  75  per  cent,  of 
that  total,  which  means  a  reduction  of  over  13  per  cent, 
in  wages  and  in  other  items,  the  cost  of  which  can  be  con- 
trolled by  the  management.  The  total  reduction  in  each 
department  will  vary  with  the  varying  percentage  of  un- 
controllable items  that  are  charged  to  that  department. 

In  referring  to  these  departments  I  classify  them  as 
follows  : 

Administrative  department,  including  so-called  general 
expenses  and  expenses  of  purchasing  agencies. 

Eoadway  department,  including  all  expenses  pertaining 
to  maintenance  of  way  and  structures. 

Machinery  department,  including  maintenance  of  mo- 
tive power  and  rolling  stock,  also  fuel  and  wages  of  loco- 
motive crews. 

Transportation  department,  including  wages  of  train 
men. 

Freight  and  passenger  department,  including  all  station 
agents,  clerks  and  laborers  employed  in  billing  and 
handling  freight  and  passengers. 

The  total  expense  account  of  $2,000,000  would  be 
divided  among  these  several  departments  about  as  follows  : 

Administrative  department $180,000  or    9  per  cent. 

Roadway  department 400,000  "  20       " 

Machinery  department 740,000  "  37 

Transportation  department 300,000  "15       " 

Freight  and  passenger  department 880,000  "  19       " 

Total $2,000,000 

The  percentage  of  total  expenses  in  each  department 

which  goes  for  wages  varies  materially  and  is  about  as 

follows  : 

In  administrative  department 28  per  cent. 

In  roadway  department 55       " 

In  machinery  department  59       " 

In  transportation  department 75       " 

In  freight  and  passenger  department 89       " 

Any  uniform  reduction  in  pay  will  therefore  affect  each 
department  very  differently.    For  instance,  89  per  cent. 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.      101 

of  the  total  cost  of  operating  the  freight  and  passenger 
departments  would  be  affected,  while  in  the  adininistrative 
department  only  28  per  cent,  would  be  affected. 

On  this  basis  the  total  reduction  of  $2,000,000^  would 
be  borne  in  each  department  as  follows  : 


In  other 

Reduction.  In  wages.  items.  Total. 

Admiuistrative  deparlmeut $5,000  |5,000  1 10,000 

Roadway  depart ment 80,000  3,000  83,000 

Machiuery  departmeut 60,000  15,000  75,000 

Trausportalion  department 30,000  8,000  83,000 

Freight  and  passenger  department.   .  45,000  4,000  49,000 

Totals $170,000      |30,000      $200,000 

On  such  a  road  as  I  have  used  for  an  illustration,  out 
of  a  total  expense  account  of  $2,000,000,  about  $1,270,000 
would  go  for  salaries  and  wages,  and  of  this  amount  about 
$410,000  would  be  paid  to  engiiiemen,  firemen,  trainmen, 
switchmen  and  telegraph  operators.  Where  these  classes 
of  employees  are  protected  against  reduction  of  wages  by 
contract,  the  total  reduction  must  fall  upon  those  classes 
which  are  not  so  organized,  and  whose  wages  would  amount 
in  all  to  about  two  thirds  of  the  pay  roll  account.  Under 
such  conditions  the  result  of  an  apparent  reduction  of  ten 
per  cent,  in  total  expenses  would  be  to  reduce  by  twenty 
per  cent,  the  salaries  and  wages  of  all  officials  and  em- 
ployees whose  pay  was  not  fixed  by  contract. 

It  is  a  matter  for  traffic  officials  to  ponder  upon,  when 
they  are  cutting  rates  to  take  away  each  other's  business, 
that  the  reductions  in  gross  earnings  thereby  occasioned 
must  be  made  good  from  operating  expense  account. 

In  the  case  which  I  have  worked  out  as  an  illustration, 
if  a  reduction  of  30  cents  per  ton  had  been  made  on  a 
considerable  volume  of  traffic,  coal,  for  instance,  10  cents 
would  have  come  out  of  the  fund  available  for  fixed 
charges  and  dividends,  3  cents  out  of  the  vouchers  paid 
supply  men,  &c.,  and  17  cents  out  of  salaries  and  wages, 
that  is,  if  the  reduction  was  uniformly  distributed. 

Is  there  no  way  to  stop  this  continuous  shrinkage  of 


102  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MAKAaEMEKT. 

rates  on  competitive  traffic  ?  It  is  the  most  serious  prob- 
lem which  confronts  the  railroad  managements  of  this 
country  at  the  present  time.  The  total  volume  of  this 
business  is  not  increased  by  such  reductions,  though  the 
total  revenue  derived  from  it  is  proportionately  dimin- 
ished, however  the  total  loss  may  be  distributed  among 
the  competitors.  It  is  not  possible,  from  available  statis- 
tics, to  separate  the  tonnage  and  revenue  of  competitive 
and  local  traffic.  The  totals  are  given  in  the  Inter-State 
Commerce  Commission  report  for  1892  as,  in  round  num- 
bers, 88,000  million  ton  miles  and  799  million  dollars. 
The  total  common  stock  is  given  at  3,978  million  dollars, 
and  the  total  dividends  on  common  stock  at  79  million 
dollars,  an  average  dividend  of  two  per  cent.  Over  70  per 
cent,  of  the  total  common  stock  received  no  dividend 
whatever.  An  increase  of  one  mill  per  ton  mile  on  the 
total  tonnage  in  1893  would  have  resulted  in  increased 
net  earnings  of  88  million  dollars  which,  if  added  to  the 
total  amount  paid  in  dividends  on  common  stock,  would 
have  raised  the  average  dividend  from  2  to  4  per  cent. 
What  possibilities  there  would  be  in  such  improved  earn- 
ings for  better  service,  for  greater  facilities,  for  higher 
wages,  for  increased  sale  of  supplies,  for  a  general  advance 
in  the  value  of  railroad  securities,  and  indeed  for  brighter 
prospects  in  every  field  of  industry  in  this  country  of  ours, 
where  the  railroad  is  so  important  a  factor. 

But  why  present  such  a  picture  to  the  railroad  man- 
ager whose  daily  task  is  to  make  yet  another  turn  of  the 
screw  on  operating  expenses  ;  a  vision  of  that  which  is 
as  impossible  as  it  is  attractive.  And  why  is  it  impos- 
sible ?  Why  is  it  that  authority  should  be  given  to  traffic 
officials  arbitrarily  to  reduce  rates  regardless  of  the  cost 
of  performing  the  service  ?  Because  the  men  who  are 
responsible  for  gross  earnings  are  responsible  for  nothing 
else.  They  have  gone  on  from  year  to  year,  each  striving 
to  snatch  as  much  as  he  could  from  the  common  reservoir 
of  traffic,  and  the  swelling  tide  of  the  nation's  prosperity 


ADDRESSES,  AMERiCAit   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".      103 

kept  the  bowl  ever  full  and  overflowing.  The  contest  in 
which  each  sought  to  get  the  largest  share  becatne  so  ex- 
citing that  all  other  considerations  were  set  aside,  not 
only  considerations  of  cost  and  value  of  service  pe/"fornied 
but  even  of  good  faith,  and  I  may  say  of  common  honesty. 
In  what  an  off-hand  manner  five  cents  would  be  taken  off 
a  rate  of  twenty-five  cents  per  hundred  pounds  for  a 
thousand  mile  haul.  Yet  the  rate  of  twenty-five  cents  was 
only  half  a  cent  per  ton  mile,  and  the  cut  of  five  cents 
was  a  reduction  of  20  per  cent,  in  the  total  rate.  And  I 
have  known  such  sweeping  reductions  to  be  made  in  a 
vaunting  way,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  and  in  a  spirit 
of  resentment  because  of  some  offensive  action  by  a  com- 
petitor. 

The  time  has  arrived  in  the  development  of  this 
country's  resources  and  of  its  railroad  system,  when  such 
a  policy  in  the  management  of  competitive  traffic  cannot 
be  persisted  in  without  disastrous  consequences.  The  in- 
crease in  the  volume  of  such  traffic  is  proportionately  less 
year  by  year  ;  the  bowl  is  no  longer  overflowing.  But 
the  competitors  are  increasing  ;  year  by  year  others  are 
tapping  the  reservoir.  Either  the  volume  of  tonnage 
must  increase  more  rapidly  than  the  rate  diminishes  or 
the  total  revenue  from  competitive  traffic  must  decrease. 
That  is  just  what  is  taking  place,  and  the  shortage  must 
be  made  good  by  reduction  in  operating  expenses. 

As  I  have  just  asked,  is  there  to  be  no  end  to  this  shrink- 
age of  rates  ?  Will  it  avail  anything  with  our  traffic  officials 
to  impress  upon  them  the  fact  that  the  point  has  been 
reached  at  which  each  further  step  in  economy  means 
another  step  in  the  reduction  of  wages  ?  I  believe  that  it 
will  ;  that  the  men  who  display  so  much  intelligence  in 
outwitting  each  other  to  get  business  are  competent  to 
recognize  that  there  is  a  point  below  which  the  rate  is 
less  than  the  cost  of  the  service,  and  that  when  that  point 
is  reached  they  can  in  no  way  more  successfully  get  the 


104  AMERlCAi^  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

best  of  a  competitor  than  by  forcing  him  to  take  the  busi- 
ness. 

But  how  can  that  point  be  ascertained  ?  Not  by  figur- 
ing out  the  average  rate  per  ton  mile.  The  statistician  who 
devised  that  standard  of  performance  is  responsible  for 
most  of  the  ills  which  railroad  properties  have  suffered. 
It  is  so  easy  to  make  the  calculation,  once  the  total  ton 
mileage  and  the  total  revenue  are  known,  that  it  has  been 
made  the  basis  of  comparison  by  Wall  Street  brokers, 
grangers,  demagogues,  legislators,  by  all  who  had  a  moral 
to  enforce  or  a  tale  to  tell  at  the  expense  of  some  unfortu- 
nate railroad  management  or  corporation.  It  serves  no 
practical  purpose.  It  has  no  actual  existence.  It  is  a 
mere  figment  of  the  brain.  Yet  it  is  the  father  and  the 
mother  of  the  long  and  the  short  haul  idea  ;  it  is  the 
standard  for  operating  expenses,  and  it  is  the  only  yard- 
stick that  is  put  in  the  hands  of  the  traffic  official  when 
he  is  measuring  off  competitive  traffic.  No  better  service 
could  be  done  for  our  railroads  than  to  demonstrate  its  in- 
efficiency, its  utter  nothingness  ;  to  dissolve  the  phantom 
into  the  thin  air  whence  it  came.  We  move  freight  by 
car  loads,  not  by  tons,  and  it  is  by  car  miles  and  not  by 
ton  miles  that  the  cost  of  the  service  should  be  reckoned. 
Add  to  this  standard  the  cost  of  terminal  service  and  you 
will  give  the  traffic  official  the  means  of  ascertaining  the 
dividing  line  between  profit  and  loss  in  making  rates  on 
competitive  traffic.  And  you  will  have  a  standard  by 
which  the  work  of  the  operating  official  can  be  fairly 
measured,  also  one  which  may  be  used  ,to  demonstrate  to 
the  local  shipper  that  he  is  not  the  patient  ass  which  is 
carrying  the  long  haul  shipper  on  his  back.  I  feel  sure 
that  the  more  you  think  of  it — you  on  whom  falls  the 
duty  of  reducing  expenses  as  the  rates  are  reduced,  you 
will  see  how  important  it  is  that  the  cost  and  value  of 
the  service  that  you  are  responsible  for  should  be  measured 
by  this  rational  standard  rather  than  by  one  which  helps 
no  one  and  proves  nothing — a  standard  which,  if  intelli- 


ADDRESSES,  AM  ERIC  AK  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.      105 

gently  used  by  the  traffic  official,  will  deter  him  from  re- 
ducing rates  at  the  expense  of  wa^es,  and  will  assure  a 
profitable  revenue  from  the  entire  volume  of  competitive 
traffic  ;  a  standard  which  will  account  for  the  aid  rendered 
by  heavier  locomotives,  lighter  grades  and  curves,  and 
every  other  improvement  which  cheapens  the  service  and 
makes  up  the  sum  of  possible  economies  in  railroad 
operation. 

To  the  f-^affic  officials  the  stockholders  must  now  look 
for  relief.  The  prosperity  of  their  property  is  no  longer 
in  the  hands  of  the  operating  officials.  Human  ingenuity 
seems  to  have  about  done  its  utmost  to  give  cheap  trans- 
portation by  rail.  Every  available  invention  has  been 
adapted  to  that  purpose,  and  if  the  limit  of  economic  re- 
sults has  not  yet  been  attained,  it  has  been  so  nearly 
reached  that  the  small  percentage  yet  to  be  saved  can  only 
be  gained  by  painful  methods  more  characteristic  of  a 
country  and  of  an  industry  tending  to  decay  than  of  a 
great  people  full  of  energy  and  resource  and  of  the  great- 
est factor  in  modern  civilization. 


lOG  AMERICA K  RAILWAY  MANAGEMeKT. 


EATES   OF  TEANSPORTATION  AND  COST   OF 
SEEVICE  ON  AMEEICAN  EAILEOADS. 

(April  17,  1895,  at  Planters'  Hotel,  St.  Louis,  Mo.) 

The  most  serious  fact  which  confronts  the  railroad 
managements  of  this  country  is  the  continuing  reduc- 
tion in  the  margin  between  the  charge  for  transportation 
and  the  cost  of  performing  the  service.  The  annual 
approximation  of  these  two  lines  of  figures,  as  we  look 
along  them  toward  the  horizon  before  us,  is  not  a  per- 
spective illusion  but  an  actual  drawing  together  toward 
zero.  We  have  postponed  the  critical  moment  at  which 
they  will  meet  in  the  vanishing  point,  by  economies, 
true  and  false  ;  by  a  more  enlightened  use  of  the  facili- 
ties at  our  command,  and  by  requiring  more  work  for 
less  pay.  But  strive  as  we  may  between  the  conditions 
which  confine  our  path  on  the  one  hand  and  on  the  other, 
cost  and  compensation,  they  cannot  be  kept  parallel  by 
changing  the  direction  of  one  so  long  as  the  other  changes 
at  a  greater  angle  ;  in  other  words,  so  long  as  the  pay  for 
doing  the  work  decreases  faster  than  the  cost  of  doing  it 
can  be  decreased.  Having  made  this  assertion,  let  me 
proceed  to  substantiate  it,  relying  for  statistics  upon  the 
annual  reporcs  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission. 

And  first  as  to  freight  business.  Look  at  the  annual 
average  revenue  and  cost  per  ton  mile  from  1888  to  1893, 
and  the  difference  between  them.  For  purposes  ot  com- 
parison, some  approximate  figures  are  also  given  frcm 
advance  reports  for  1894  : 

CENTS  PER  TON  MILE. 
Revenue, 

1888 1.001 

1889 922 

1890 941 

1891 .895 

1892 .898 

1893 878 

1894 866 


Cost. 

Profit. 

.630 

.371 

.593 

.329 

.604 

.337 

.583 

.312 

.583 

.316 

.579 

.299 

ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATIOK.      107 

\ 

ANNUAL  DECREASE. — CENTS  PEK  TON  MILE. 

Revenue.  Cost.  Profit/ 

1889 079  .037  .042f 

1890 Inc.  .019  Inc.    .011  Inc.    .008 

1891 046  .021  .025 

1892 Inc.  .003  .001  Inc.     .004 

1893 .020  .003  .017 

1894 012 

The  reduction  in  cost  since  1891  has  been  so  minute 
as  to  indicate  that  the  minimum  cost  of  performing  the 
service  has  been  substantially  reached,  at  least  until  some 
considerable  aid  to  further  economy  shall  have  been  dis- 
covered or  invented.  Now  compare  the  total  reduction 
in  six  years,  from  1888  to  1893. 

TOTAL  DECREASE. — CENTS  PER  TON  MILE. 

18S8.  1893.  Decrease.      Per  Cent. 

Revenue 1.001  .878  .123  12 

Cost 630  .579  .051  8 

Profit .37i  .299  .072  19 

In  these  six  years  we  have  not  only  given  to  the  public 
the  entire  result  of  our  economies  and  of  our  improved 
methods  of  operation,  amounting  to  .051  cents  per  ton 
mile,  but  we  have  given  them  .072  cents  besides,  an  ad- 
dition of  nearly  150  per  cent,  over  the  decrease  in  cost. 
That  it  is  about  time  to  call  a  halt  in  this  race  toward 
zero  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  while  the  cost  decreased 
.047  cents  from  1888  to  1891,  it  decreased  but  .004  cents 
from  1891  to  1893.  There  is  a  bright  side  to  this  dark 
picture,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  bountiful  re- 
sources providentially  bestowed  upon  this  favored  land 
and  to  the  industry  and  ingenuity  of  our  people.  This 
combination  of  resources  and  energy  so  increased  the  total 
volume  of  traffic  in  these  six  years  as  measurably  to  neu- 
tralize the  loss  of  revenue  which  would  otherwise  have  re- 
sulted from  the  lavish  and  irrational  reduction  in  rates. 
As  the  statistics  bearing  upon  this  point  are  not  given  for 
1888,  the  following  statement  begins  with  1889  : 


108  AMERICAK   HAILWAY   MAKAGEMENT. 


ANNUAL   FREIGHT   TRAFFIC. 

Ton  Miles.                          Increase.  Per  Cent. 

1889 68,727,223,146  

1890 76,207,047,298  7,479,824,152  11 

1891 81,073,784,121  4,866,736,823  6 

1892 88,241,050,225  7,167,266,104  9 

1893 93,588,111,833  5,347,061,608  6 

Average  annual  increase  8  per  ctnt. 

But  the  preliminary  report  for  1894  reveals  a  change 
in  the  annual  tonnage  movement  so  remarkable  as  to  men- 
ace our  sublime  reliance  upon  the  continuing  capacity  of 
this  favored  land  to  force  into  the  channels  of  transpor- 
tation an  ever  increasing  volume  of  business. 

A  comparison  of  these  figures  in  this  advance  report 
with  those  given  in  the  advance  report  for  the  previous 
year,  results  as  follows  : 

1893— Ton  miles  on  149,559  miles 84,968,987,747 

1894— Ton  miles  on  same  roads 70,426,344,965 


Decrease  (17  per  cent.) 14,543,642,782 

Instead  of  the  increase  from  year  to  year  which  the 
tonnage  reports  had  shown  since  the  Inter-State  Com- 
merce Commission  had  a  being,  we  are  for  the  first  time 
confronted,  not  by  a  diminution  in  the  flowing  tide,  but 
by  a  reversal  in  the  current.  The  volume  of  business 
no  longer  rises  in  the  reservoir  of  railroad  traffic  from 
which  it  is  drawn  by  an  increasing  number  of  mains.  It 
is  ebbing  from  the  high  water  mark,  and  the  widening 
strand  is  covered  with  the  wrecks  which  it  has  left  as  it 
receded.  In  one  year  it  has  substantially  fallen  to  where 
it  was  five  years  before,  nor  is  this  the  only  disagreeable 
feature  of  the  situation  in  which  the  railroad  managements 
of  this  country  now  find  themselves.  Attention  has  al- 
ready been  called  to  the  continuing  decrease  in  the  rate 
of  compensation  for  freight  service.  We  see  that  it  has 
fallen  .135  cents  per  ton  mile,  or  13  per  cent,  since  1888. 
During  that  time  the  cost  has  decreased  but  .051  cents  or 
about  8  per  cent.,  thus  reducing  the  average  profit  on  the 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAIT   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".      109 

haul  from  .371  cents  to  about  .287  cents  ;  a  decrease  of 
about  22  per  cent. 

So  long  as  the  volume  of  business  per  mile  increased 
on  an  average  about  6  per  cent,  per  annum,  this  steady- 
decrease  in  the  profit  on  the  haul  was  not  shown  in  the 
total  volume  of  earnings  from  freight  traffic. 

ANNUAL  FREIGHT  EARNINGS. 

Gross  Earnines.  Increase.  Per  CCTit. 

1889 $633,664,997  

1890 717,108,315  $73,443,318  11 

1891 725,610,067  8,501,752  1.2 

1892 -792,404,631  66,794,564  9 

18J3 821,703,623  29,298,991  3.7 

The  average  annual  increase  in  total  freight  earnings 
has  been  about  five  per  cent.,  while  the  average  increase 
in  the  volume  of  traffic  has  been  over  eight  per  cent. 

The  irregularity  in  the  rate  of  annual  increase  in  earn- 
ings has  been  greater  to  a  remarkable  degree  than  in  the 
rate  of  increase  of  traffic.  This  is  due  mainly  to  the. 
fluctuation  in  the  average  rate.  For  instance,  the  in- 
crease of  11  per  cent,  in  the  freight  earnings  of  1890,  ac- 
companied an  increase  of  .019  cents  in  the  rate  combined 
with  an  increase  of  11  per  cent,  in  traffic,  while  the  slight 
increase  in  the  earnings  of  the  following  year  was  due  to 
a  decrease  of  .046  cents  in  the  rate  with  but  6  per  cent, 
increase  in  traffi-c. 

Still  when  the  gross  freight  earnings  for  1893  are  com- 
pared with  those  for  1889,  the  increase  is  impressive.  Not 
so  much,  however,  when  we  compare  these  figures  with  the 
ton  mileage,  and  with  the  net  revenue. 

But  before  making  this  comparison  let  us  glance  again 
at  the  advance  report  for  1894.  The  product  of  the  ton- 
miles  therein  given  by  the  rate  gives  the  total  earnings  : 

On  that  traffic  as $609,890,147 

And  on  the  same  roads  in  1893 746,027,712 

Decrease  (18  per  cent.) $136,137,565 


110  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

Now  compare  these  figures  with  those  for  1892  and 
1893: 

INCREASE  IN  FREIGHT  EARNINGS. 

1893  over  1891 $66,794,564  or    9     percent. 

1893  over  1892 29.298,991  "     3.7 

Decrease,  1894  over  1893.     136,137,565  "  18 

No  comment  is  needed  to  call  attention  to  the  situa- 
tion which  these  figures  represent.  Let  us  now  return  to 
the  situation  in  1893,  as  compared  with  that  in  1889  : 

Ton  Mileage.  Freight  Earnings. 

1889 68,727,223,146  1633,664,997 

1893.... 93,588,111,833  821,703,622 

Increase 24,860,888,687  $188,038,625 

Per  ceut 34  30 

In  these  five  years  the  increase  in  the  gross  freight 
earnings  did  not  keep  pace  with  the  ton  mileage,  which 
is  due  to  the  decrease  in  the  rate,  yet  the  result  would  have 
been  quite  satisfactory  if  the  net  earnings  had  shown  i.s 
well. 

The  annual  net  earnings  during  the  same  years  were  as 
follows  : 

Net  Freight  Earnings.  Increase.  Per  Cent. 

1889 $226,112,564  

1890 256,817,749  $30,705,185         14 

1891 252,950,206  (dec.)     3,867,543  1.5  (dec.) 

1892 278,841,718.  25,891,512         10 

1893 279,828,454  986,736  0.3 

The  average  annual  increase  in  net  earnings  from  freight 
traffic  during  these  five  years  was  about  4-J  per  cent.,  but 
the  fluctuations  from  year  to  year  have  been  so  great  as 
to  emphasize  the  lesson  which  I  have  sought  to  enforce 
upon  the  minds  of  railroad  managers  ;  that  is,  that  the 
compensation  for  the  service  should  bear  a  due  relation 
to  the  cost  of  performance.  This  is  clearly  shown  by  the 
following  statement,  in  which  the  percentage  of  increase 
or  decrease  in  ton  mileage,  gross  and  net  earnings,  are 
brought  together  : 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".      11 

Ton  Miles.  Gross  Freight  Earuings.        Net  Freight  Earnings. 

Increase.  Increase.  Increase. 

1889 

1890 11  per  cent.  13    per  cent.  14    per  cent. 

1891 6       "  1.2      *•  1.5      "    (dec.) 

1892 9       "  9         "  10 

1893 6       "  3.7      "  0.3      " 

Such  results  as  are  shown  in  1891,  when  an  increase  of 
6  per  cent,  in  ton  mileage  resulted  in  a  decrease  of  1.5  per 
cent,  in  net  revenue,  and  in  1893,  when  6  per  cent,  in- 
crease in  ton  mileage  resulted  in  only  0.3  per  cent,  in- 
crease in  net  revenue,  are  indeed  anomalous  as  compared 
with  the  results  in  the  alternate  years.  But  they  can  be 
readily  understood  by  reference  to  the  comparison  of  an- 
nual increase  and  decrease  in  the  rate,  cost  and  net  receipts 
per  ton  mile,  given  above.  In  1890  the  net  earnings  per 
ton  mile  increased  .008  cents,  and  in  1892  .004  cents,  over 
the  previous  year,  while  in  1891  there  was  a  decrease  of 
.025  cents,  and  in  1893  of  .017  cents,  over  the  previous 
years.  That  such  minute  variations  in  the  rate  per  ton 
mile  should  so  seriously  affect  the  total  result  ought  to  be 
remembered  by  traffic  managers  when  they  are  tempted 
to  cut  rates  ten  or  twenty  per  cent,  in  order  to  compete 
for  the  favors  of  a  large  shipper. 

There  is  another  lesson  to  be  learned  from  these  fig- 
ures. It  would  seem  that  after  maintaining  rates  very 
well  in  1890,  the  traffic  managers  went  wild  in  the 
following  year  and  reduced  rates  .046  cents  per  ton 
mile.  A  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  operating 
managements,  which  led  to  their  reducing  the  cost  .021 
cents,  so  that  the  decrease  in  the  net  was  but  .025  cents.  In 
the  following  year,  1892,  the  traffic  managers  maintained 
rates  at  the  low  level  reached  the  previous  year  and  indeed 
slightly  increased  them  by  .003  cents  ;  the  operating  man- 
agements also  made  a  slight  decrease,  and  the  net  result 
was  an  increase  of  .004  cents.  Small  as  this  was  it  led  to 
an  increase  of  10  per  cent,  or  nearly  $26,000,000  in  net 
freight  earnings  in  1892  over  the  previous  year.  The  fol- 
lowing year  rates  were  again  cut  .0^0  cents  ;  the  operating 


112  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

managements  responded  by  a  reduction  of  .003  cents  in 
the  cost,  but  the  net  rate  fell  off  .017  cents  ;  the  result 
being,  that  with  an  increase  in  ton-mileage  of  over  5,000 
million  miles  the  net  earnings  showed  an  increase  of  less 
than  a  million  dollars,  against  an  increase  of  nearly 
$26,000,000  in  the  net  earnings  of  1892.  So  far  as  it  is 
practicable  to  extend  this  investigation  into  the  operations 
of  1894,  as  obtained  from  the  preliminary  report  for  that 
year,  the  following  results  are  obtained  : 

Ton  Mileage.  Freight  Earnings. 

1893 84,968,987.747  $746,027,712 

1894 70,426,344,965  609,890,147 

Decrease 14,542,642,782  $136,137,565 

Per  cent 17  18 

These  figures  are  based  upon  149,559  miles  of  the  same 
roads  in  1894  as  in  1893,  being  about  24,000  miles  less 
than  the  total  mileage  of  1894. 

The  rate  per  ton-mile  in  1893  was. 878  cents 

And  the  cost  per  ton-mile  was 579     * ' 

Net  revenue  per  ton-mile 299  cents 

The  rate  per  ton-mile  in  1894  was 866  cents 

Assuming  the  cost  per  ton-mile,  which  is  not  given,  as  the 
same  as  in  1893,  viz 579     " 

Net  revenue  per  ton-mile 287  cents 

Applying  this  net  revenue  per  ton  mile  to  the  ton 
mileage  as  above  given,  the  results  obtained  as  to  total  net 
earnings  are  as  follows  : 

Net  freight  earnings  1893 $253,617,273 

Net  freight  earnings  1894 202,123,610 

Decrease  (20  per  cent.) $51,493,663 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  on  the  same  149,559  miles  com- 
pared in  these  two  years  there  was  a  decrease  in  1894  of  17 
per  cent,  in  the  volume  of  freight  traffic,  and  of  18  per 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION^.      113 

cent,  in  the  gross  and  of  20  per  cent,  in  the  net  income 
therefrom  as  compared  with  1893. 

In  the  report  it  is  estimated  that  15  per  cent,  should  be 
added  to  the  figures  for  1894,  to  ascertain  the  true  volume 
of  traffic  for  the  entire  mileage  operated  during  that  year. 
On  this  basis,  the  net  freight  earnings  on 

The  entire  mileage  in  1894  would  be $232,470,000 

And  in  1893  on  the  entire  mileage  they  were 279,828,454 

Estimated  decrease  (17  per  cent.) $47,358,454 

Compare  now  the  changes  in  net  earnings  from  freight 
traffic  on  the  entire  mileage  of  the  country  for  the  past 
three  years  : 

1892.     Increase $25,891,512        10  per  cent. 

1893     Increase 986,736        03      " 

1894.     Estimated  decrease.     47,358.454        17      " 

Surely  it  is  not  an  incorrect  figure  of  speech  to  say  that 
the  tide  which  has  been  flowing  without  change  for  all 
t*hese  years  has  been  suddenly  reversed  ;  that,  as  if  from 
some  great  catastrophe,  the  stream  is  flowing  toward  its 
source. 

But  why  dwell  on  these  figures  ?  To  seek  by  reiter- 
ation to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  are  respon- 
sible for  the  management  of  the  railroads  in  this  country, 
that  farther  reduction  in  freight  rates  must  cease  if  net 
earnings  are  to  be  maintained.  The  statistics  for  1892 
and  1893  showed  that  it  was  not  possible  to  extend  favors 
of  this  kind  any  longer  to  the  public  without  still  farther 
reduction  in  the  wages  of  railroad  employees.  The  figures 
now  given  for  1894  manifest  such  a  decrease  in  the  volume 
of  traffic  as  to  indicate  that  even  at  present  rates  such  a 
reduction  is  imminent  unless  some  great  discovery  shall 
render  it  possible  to  bring  about  a  decrease  in  other  items 
of  expense,  such  as  for  instance  followed  upon  the  pro- 
duction of  Bessemer  steel. 

Railroad  stockholders  and  bondholders  should  entirely 
oppose  further  reductions  in  freight  rates.     That  their 


114  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

interests  will  be  seriously  and  unfavorably  affected  unless 
this  be  stopped  may  readily  be  shown. 

The  traffic  statistics  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Com- 
mission here  referred  to  are  based  upon  the  following  road 
mileage,  which  is  less  than  the  actual  mileage  of  tlie 
country  : 

In  1889..         153,385 

lu  1893 . .         169,779    Increase  over  1889. .  9  per  cent. 

lu  1894.. (est.)173, 000    Increase  over  1893.  .3 

Let  us  see  to  what  extent  the  increase  in  freight  traffic 
and  freight  earnings  has  justified  the  increased  road 
mileage  as  given  above,  using  for  this  purpose  a  compari- 
son per  mile  of  road. 

Per  Mile.                            J889.                 1893.  1894  (est.) 

Ton  mileage 448,069  551,232  468.200 

Gross  freight  earnings..     $4,131  $4,840  |4,054 

Net  freight  earnings 1,474           1,648  1,343 

Erom  this  comparison  it  would  seem  that  from  1889  to 
1893  the  amount  of  traffic  and  the  net  returns  more  than 
kept  pace  with  the  increased  road  mileage.  But  we  must 
consider  that  the  ratio  of  net  revenue  has  been  maintained 
by  economies  which  cannot  be  materially  augmented  un- 
less relief  can  be  obtained  from  some  new  source.  Those 
who  are  responsible  for  the  cost  of  operation  should  insist 
that  there  shall  be  no  further  reduction  in  rates.  The 
estimated  results  for  1894  re-enforce  this  demand — for  they 
show  that  the  results  for  that  year  are  worse  than  for  any 
year  since  these  statistics  have  been  compiled. 

The  relation  of  net  earnings  to  capital  invested  in  rail- 
road property  has  an  important  bearing  on  this  matter  of 
freight  rates.  When  we  compare  the  investment  in  1889 
and  1893  we  find  the  following  results  : 

stock.  Bonds.  Total. 

1889 $4,251,190,719        $4,267,527,859        $8,518,718,578 

1893 4,630,457,481  5,266,318,961  9,896.776,443 


Increase...   $379,266,762     $998,791,102   $1,378,057,864 
Percent,,      8.9  33.4         16.3 


ADDKESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.      115 

INVESTMENT  PER  MILE  OF  ROAD. 

Stock  Bonds.  Total. 

1889 $27,716        |27,822        |55,538 

1893 28,714  32,657  61,371 

Increase $998         $4,835  $5,833 

The  net  freight  earnings  per  mile  of  road  amounted  in 
1889  to  2.6  per  cent,  on  the  total  investment  and  to  2.7 
per  cent,  in  1893.  And  if  applied  only  to  the  bonded 
debt  they  would  have  paid  5.3  per  cent,  in  1889  and  5.1 
per  cent,  in  1893. 

Leaving  for  the  present  the  subject  of  freight  traffic,  a 
somewhat  similar  analysis  is  here  presented  of  the  pas- 
senger traffic  for  the  same  period. 

CENTS  PER  PASSENGER  MILE. 

Revenue.  Cost.  Net. 

1889 2.165  1.993  .172 

1890 2167  1.917  .250 

1891 2.142  1.910  .232 

1892  2.126  1.939  .187 

1893 2,108  1.955  .153 

1894 1.976 

The  changes  in  these  figures  from  year  to  year  have  been 
as  follows  : 

CENTS  PER  PASSENGER  MILE. 

Revenue.  Cost.  Net. 

1890 Inc.    .002  Dec.  .076  Inc.    .078 

1891 Dec.  .025  "      .007  Dec.  .018 

1892 "      .016  Inc.    .029  "      .045 

1893 "      .018  "      .016  "      .034 

1894 "      .132 

The  slight  increase  in  gross  revenue  in  1890  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  uniform  decrease  in  the  following  years  until 
the  great  decrease  in  1894,  the  Columbian  Exhibition 
year.  The  remarkable  decrease  in  cost  in  1890  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  further  slight  decrease  in  1891,  and  by  a  con- 
siderable increase  in  each  of  the  following  years.  The  ef- 
fect of  these  fluctuations  has  been  a  continuing  decrease 
ill  the  annual  net  rate. 


116  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

Comparing  1889  with  1893  the  resulting  changes  have 
been  : 

CENTS  PER   PASSENGER  MILiE. 

1889.  1893.  Dec.  Per  Cent. 

Revenue 2.165  2.108  0.057  2 

Cost 1.993  1.955  0.038  2 

Net 0.173  0.153  0.019         10 

Here  again,  as  with  the  freight  rate,  more  has  been 
given  away  than  has  been  saved  in  cost,  for  while  the  rate 
has  been  reduced  .057  cents  per  mile,  the  reduction  in  cost 
has  been  but  .038  cents  per  mile  ;  a  gift  to  the  traveling 
public  of  .019  cents  per  mile  more  than  the  saving  in  cost. 

Now  if  we  compare  the  percentage  of  reduction  in  these 
five  years  in  the  rate  and  cost  per  mile  in  passenger  traffic, 
with  the  rate  and  cost  per  ton  mile  in  freight  traffic,  the 
relative  reduction  is  seen  to  be  as  follows  : 

Reduction  iu  Rate.  Cost. 

Freight  per  ton  mile 12  per  cent.       8  per  cent. 

Passengers  per  passenger  mile   2        "  2      " 

These  figures  show  that  the  rates  on  passenger  traffic 
have  been  much  better  maintained  than  on  freight  traffic, 
while  the  cost  of  the  service  in  the  former  has  been  by  no 
means  so  greatly  reduced  as  in  the  latter. 

Let  us  now  compare  the  annual  changes  in  the  volume 
of  passenger  traffic  : 

ANNUAL  PASSENGER  TRAFFIC. 


Passenprer  Miles. 

Increase. 

Per  Cent. 

1889 

11  553  820  445 

1890 

11.847.785,617 

293,965,172 

2.5 

1891 

12,844,243,881 

996,458,264 

8.4 

1892 

13,362,898,299 

518,654,418 

4.^ 

1893 

14,229,101,084 

866.202.785 

6.4 

Average  annual  increase,  5.3  per  cent. 

The  preliminary  report  for  1894  affords  the  following 
comparison  with  the  figures  for  1893  : 

1894.     Passenger  miles  on  149,559  miles.  12.899,936,578 
1893.     Passenger  miles  on  same  roads. .  12,873,272,594 

Increase  (.2  of  one  per  cent.) ^6,663,984 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.      117 

This  result  is  indeed  disappointing,  since  its  includes  in 
1891  the  travel  due  to  the  Columbian  Exhibition. 

ANNUAL  PASSENGER  EARNINGS. 

Gross  Earnings.  Increase,  Per  Cent. 

1889 $250,140,212  

1890 256,741,514  $6,601,302  2.6 

1891 275,123,703  18,382,189  7.1 

1892 284,095,217  8,971,514  3.2 

1893 299,949,450  15,854,233  5.5 

The  average  annual  increase  in  gross  passenger  earnings 
has  been  4.6  per  cent,  against  an  increase  of  5,3  per  cent, 
in  the  volume  of  traffic. 

An  irregularity  in  the  rate  of  annual  increase  of  earn- 
ings is  to  be  observed  as  in  the  case  of  gross  freight  earn- 
ings : 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL  INCREASE  IN  GROSS  FREIGHT  AND  PASSENGER 
EARNINGS. 

Freight  Earnings.  Passenger  Earnings. 

1890 Increase  8     per  cent.  2.6  per  cent 

1891  "        1.2        "  7.1 

1892 "        9          "  3.2       " 

1893 '•        3.7        "  5.5       " 

The  heavy  increase  in  both  freight  and  passenger  earn- 
ings occurred  in  alternate  years,  but  as  between  the  two  it 
did  not  fall  in  the  same  years. 

On  the  figures  in  the  preliminary  report  for  1894  the 
gross  earnings  on  the  mileage  therein  reported  amounted 
to  $254,902,746  ;  and  on  same  mileage  in  1893,  $271,368,- 
586  ;  decrease  (6  per  cent.),  $16,465,840. 

Here  again,  as  with  the  freight  traffic,  an  actual  de- 
crease is  shown  for  the  first  time  in  the  Inter-State  Com- 
merce Commission  Reports,  and  that,  too,  in  the  Co- 
lumbian Exposition  year  ! 

The  total  increase  in  passenger  traffic  and  gross  earnings 
from  1889  to  1893  was  as  follows  : 

Passenger  Miles.  Gross  Earnings. 

1889 11,553,820,445  $250,140,212 

1893 14,229,101,084  299,949,450 

Increase 2,675,280,639  $49,809,238 

Percent 23  20 


118  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAN^AGEMENT. 

The  annual  net  passenger  earnings  in  each  of  these  five 
years  were  as  follows  : 

Net  Earnings.  Increase.  Per  Cent. 

1889 $19,872,571  

1890 29,619,640  $9,747,069  4.9 

1891..., 29,798,645  179,005  0  6 

1892 24,988,619  (dec.)       4,810,026  (dec  16.1 

1893 21,770,524  (dec.)       3,218,095  (dec.)  12.9 

The  net  earnings  in  1893  were  about  $8,000,000  less 
than  in  1891,  and  but  2,000,000  more  than  in  1889, 
although  the  gross  earnings  were  20  per  cent,  greater. 

So  far  as  we  may  draw  an  inference  from  the  prelim- 
inary report  for  1894  we  may  estimate  the  net  passenger 
earnings  for  that  year  about  as  follows  :  On  the  road 
mileage  reported  there  was  an  increase  of  .2  of  one  i^er 
cent,  in  passenger  traffic  over  the  preceding  year.  With 
the  average  rate  per  passenger  mile  as  stated  the  resulting 
gross  earnings  on  that  traffic  showed  a  decrease  of  about 
6  per  cent. 

The  average  rate  per  mile  was  given  at 1.976  cents 

Iq  1893  the  average  cost  per  mile  was 1.955     " 

On  this  basis  the  net  rate  per  mile  would  be    .021  cents 

The  road  mileage  reported  was  said  to  be  about  86  per 
cent,  of  the  total,  and  on  this  basis  the  total  net  earnings 
from  passage  in  this  country  in  1894  may  be  estimated 
not  to  exceed  $3,150,000,  as  against  $21,000,000  in  1893. 
Of  course,  if  the  average  cost  per  passenger  mile  for  per- 
forming the  service  has  been  diminished  in  1894,  then  this 
estimate  of  net  earnings  is  too  low,  but  there  is  nothing 
in  the  statistics  of  the  past  six  years  to  lead  us  to  hope  for 
any  better  result. 

The  causes  of  this  discouraging  exhibit  are  indicated 
in  the  following  comparison  of  the  percentages  of  increase 
or  decrease  annually  in  passenger  mileage  and  in  gross 
and  net  passenger  earnings  : 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAH^  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".      119 


Passenger  Miles. 

Gross  Earnings. 

Net  Earnings. 

Increase. 

Increase. 

Increase. 

1889 . . 



1890.. 

..2.5  per  cent. 

2.6  per  cent. 

4.9  per  cent. 

1891.. 

..8.4      " 

7.1       " 

0.6      " 

1892. . 

. .  4.0      " 

3.2      "    (dec.) 

16.1       " 

1893.. 

..  6.4      " 

5.5      "    (dec.) 

12.9      " 

Although  the  annual  increase  in  gross  earnings  nearly- 
kept  pace  with  the  increase  in  passenger  mileage,  the  net 
earnings  went  to  pieces  because  the  cost  of  performance, 
so  far  from  being  reduced  proportionately  to  the  decrease 
in  the  rate,  actually  showed  an  increase. 

AVERAGE  COST  PER  PASSENGER  MILE  IN  CENTS. 

1889.        1890.        1891.        1892.        1893. 

1.993  1.917  1.910  1.939  1.955 

A  reduction  of  .083  cents  from  1889  to  1891  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  increase  of  .045  cents  from  1891  to  1893,  leav- 
ing the  cost  in  1893  but  .038  cents  less  than  in  1889, 
though  the  rate  per  mile  had  been  reduced  .057  cents 
during  that  period. 

These  apparently  minute  changes  are  more  impressive 
when  applied  to  the  total  volume  of  traffic.  I  therefore 
compare  the  traffic  of  1893  with  that  of  1891,  in  which 
year  the  largest  net  earnings  were  reported  from  pas- 
senger traffic  during  the  period  under  consideration. 

Passppger  Miles.        Gi'os«!  Earnings.  C'tst.  Net. 

1891..   12.844,243,881       $275,123,703      $245,325,058        $29,798,645 
1893..  14,229,101,084        299,949,450         278,178,926  21.770,524 


Inc..     1,384,857,203       $24,825,747        $32,853,868  Dec.$8,028,121 

It  took  82  per  cent,  of  the  gross  earnings  from  passen- 
ger traffic  to  perform  the  service  in  1891,  and  90  per  cent, 
in  1893,  although  the  gross  earnings  were  9  per  cent,  more 
in  the  latter  than  in  the  former  year. 

The  operating  managements  have  been  apparently  un- 
able to  do  for  the  passenger  service  what  they  did  for  the 
freight  service  ;  that  is,  to  reduce  the  cost  somewhat  as 
the  rate  was  reduced.     For  this  I  shall  offer  an  explanation 


120  AMERICAN-   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

hereafter,  but  will  first  call  attention  to  the  relation  which 
the  passenger  traffic  in  this  country  bears  to  the  road 
mileage  and  to  the  capital  invested  in  railroad  property. 

PASSENGER  TRAFFIC  PER  MILE  OP  ROAD. 

1889.  1893.  1894  (est). 

Passenger  miles 75, 325  83, 809  85, 751 

Gross  earnings $1,630  $1,766  $1,694 

Net  earnings 129             128  18 

The  net  passenger  revenue  per  mile  of  road  amounted 
in  1889  to  .23  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  capital  invested,  and 
in  1893  to  .20  of  one  per  cent.  As  estimated  for  1894,  it 
was  too  small  to  be  considered. 

The  relative  contribution  per  mile  of  road  as  made 
respectively  by  the  gross  and  net  earnings  from  freight 
and  passenger  business  in  1893,  was  as  follows  : 

Gross.         Net.  Gross.  Net. 

Freight $4,656    $1,585    73  per  cent.     93  per  cent. 

Passenger..     1,699         129    27      "  "      " 

Total..  $6,355    $1,714 

According  to  these  statistics,  the  proportionate  contri- 
bution to  net  revenue  from  passenger  traffic  scarcely  de- 
serves attention,  and  when  the  total  earnings  are  given 
the  comparison  is  yet  more  impressive. 

TOTAL  EARNINGS  FROM  FREIGHT  AND  PASSENGER  TRAFFIC  IN  1893. 

Gross  Per  Cent.  Net.  Per  Cent. 

Freight...      $821,703,622        73       $279,828,454        93 
Passenger.        299,949,450        27  21,770,524  7 

Total.  $1,121,653,072  $301,598,978 

Having  thus  analyzed  the  traffic  statistics  of  the  rail- 
way system  of  this  country  for  the  past  five  years,  let  us 
now  endeavor  with  these  figures  to  assign  to  the  respective 
managements  of  the  traffic  department  and  of  the  oper- 
ating department  the  responsibility  as  to  results. 

First,  as  to  freight  traffic,  we  find  the  results  to  be  as 
follows  ; 


ADDKESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.      12  L 

CENTS  PER   TON  MILE. 

Rate.  Cost.  Net. 

1889 922  .593  .329 

1893 878  .579  .299 

Decrease 044  .014  .080 

The  question  for  the  traffic  managements  to  answer  is 
whether  they  were  justified  in  reducing  the  rates  so  much 
faster  than  the  operating  managements  reduced  the  cost, 
as  to  reduce  the  net  rate  nearly  ten  per  cent. 

The  question  for  the  operating  managements  to  answer 
is  whether  they  could  not  have  made  a  greater  reduction 
than  two  or  three  per  cent,  in  the  cost  of  handling  freight 
traffic  in  these  five  years. 

The  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission  has  given  us 
figures  intended  to  throw  some  light  on  this  latter 
question. 

From  the  "  Comparative  Summary  of  Expenditures  and 
Analysis  of  Operating  Expenses "  for  1889  and  1893,  I 
have  taken  the  proportion  indicated  as  chargeable  to 
freight  traffic  and  applied  the  ton-mile  basis  with  the  fol- 
lowing results  : 

COST  IN  CENTS  PER  TON  MILE  IN   1889   AND   1893. 

1889.  189:^.        Inc.       Dec.  Per  Cent. 

Maintenance  way lo74  .1196  0178    13 

Maiutemince  equipment 1007  .0968  0089      4 

Conducting  transportation  .   .3139  .3080  0059      2 

General  expenses 0574  .0583  .0009    2 


Total 6094    .5827  .0267 

As  given  in  body  of  report.   .593      .579  .014 

Excess 0164    .0037  .0127 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  cost  per  ton  mile  as  figured  from 
the  "  Comparative  Summary  "  is  in  both  years  in  excess 
of  the  cost  as  stated  in  the  body  of  the  report,  but  this  does 
not  affect  the  value  of  the  above  comparison  in  seeking 
for  the  particular  classes  of  expenditures  in  which  the  cost 
of  performance  has  varied  in  the  two  years  under  consider- 
ation. 


122  AMERICAN  RAILWAY   MAKAOEMENT. 

We  see  that  the  greater  part  of  the  reduction  has  been 
in  maintenance  of  way,  which  fell  off  13  per  cent.  This 
may  be  accounted  for  to  a  great  extent  by  the  substantially 
complete  replacement  of  iron  rail  by  steel. 

The  cost  of  conducting  transportation,  which  constitutes 
over  one  half  of  the  total  cost  per  ton  mile,  shows  but  a 
slight  reduction.  This  item  includes  the  wages  of  train- 
men, agents  and  freight  handlers,  the  great  body  of  railroad 
men  proper.  It  is  the  item  in  which  must  be  hereafter 
sought  any  considerable  reduction  in  the  cost  of  operation, 
and  as  materials  and  supplies  enter  very  little  into  con- 
ducting transportation  this  means  a  reduction  in  wages. 
View  this  subject  as  we  may,  there  is  no  escaping  this  con- 
clusion ;  if  the  present  average  cost  per  ton  mile  is  too 
high,  it  can  not  be  materially  reduced  except  by  a  general 
reduction  in  the  wages  of  men  whose  services  are 
classified  under  the  head  of  conducting  transportation.  It 
is  also  to  be  noted  that  only  in  the  item  of  general  ex- 
penses does  the  cost  per  ton  mile  show  an  absolute  increase. 
Under  the  classification  of  expenses  adopted  by  the  Inter- 
State  Commerce  Commission  this  item  is  apparently  the 
residuum  which  remains  after  the  other  three  items  have 
been  sej^arated  from  the  total  cost  of  operations.  It  is 
therefore  difficult  to  determine  just  what  kind  of  expense 
it  is  that  shows  this  disproportionate  increase.  It  is  true 
that  the  whole  item  of  general  expenses  constitutes  but 
about  nine  per  cent,  of  the  total  cost  per  ton  mile  ;  still, 
small  as  it  is,  it  needs  investigation. 

There  is  very  little  in  this  analysis  on  which  to  base 
an  accusation  of  extravagance  against  the  operating  man- 
agements in  their  handling  of  the  freight  traffic.  It  may 
be  remarked,  however,  that  the  principal  source  of  reduced 
cost  in  the  past  four  years  has  been  in  maintenance  of 
way,  and  if  this  be  due  to  the  general  substitution  of  steel 
for  iron  rails  there  is  but  little  further  help  to  be  expected 
in  this  direction. 


ADDRESSES,  AMERtCAir  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.      123 

Viewed  in  another  way  the  operating  managements  do 
not  escape  niifavorable  criticism  as  to  handling  freight 
traffic,  that  is,  on  the  train  mile  basis. 

BEVENUE  AND  COST  PER  FREIGHT  TRAIN  MILE. 

1889.  1893. 

Kevenue $1,653  $1,627 

Cost 1.064  1.067 


Net 589  .560 

It  is  rather  a  surprise  to  find  after  the  introduction 
into  general  use  of  cars  of  twenty  and  even  of  thirt}"  tons 
burthen  and  of  locomotives  of  increased  tractive  power, 
that  not  only  has  the  revenue  per  train  mile  decreased  but 
that  the  cost  has  increased. 

The  probable  cause  is  a  still  greater  surprise,  for  when 
we  seek  to  ascertain  the  average  train  load  in  1889  we 

find  it  was 179  tons 

Andiu  1893 184    '* 

Increase  in  average  train  load 5  tons 

That  the  average  train  load  should  not  be  more  than 
about  nine  cars  of  twenty  tons  capacity  and  that  all  the 
investments  in  improved  equipment  in  four  years  should 
yield  no  better  results,  is  a  matter  which  rests  with  the 
operating  managements.  Upon  investigation  it  will  be 
found  that  empty  car  mileage  has  much  to  do  with  it. 
Still  with  empty  car  mileage  equal  to  the  loaded  mileage 
we  can  account  for  but  eighteen  cars  in  a  train,  which  is 
much  below  the  average  train  load  possible  with  modern 
equipment.  Another  point  to  remark  upon  in  passing 
is  that  the  average  haul  has  also  decreased.  In  1889  the 
average  haul  was  127.36  miles  ;  and  in  1893,  125.6  miles. 

We  have  now  to  make  a  similar  analysis  of  the  items  of 
cost  per  passenger  mile  : 


124  AMEKICAN"  RAILWAY  MAKAGEMENT. 

COST  IN  CENTS  PER  PASSENGER  MILE,    1889  AND  1893. 

1889.  1893.  Inc.  Dec.    Per  Cent. 

Maintenance  way 0.438  0.403     0.035      8 

Maintenance  equipment 0.321  0.325  0.004  1 

Conducting  transportation..  1.001  1.035  0.034  3 

General  expenses 0. 183  0. 218  0.035  19 

Total 1.943    1.981    0.038    

As  given  in  body  of  report.  1.993    1.955    0.038 

Less 0.050 

In  excess 0.026 

The  figures  in  the  body  of  the  report  show  that  the  cost 
per  passenger  mile  decreased  .038  of  a  cent  from  1889  to 
1893,  but  the  figures  in  the  "  Comparative  Summary " 
show  that  the  cost  has  increased  just  that  amount  during 
that  period.  This  difference  of  .076  of  a  cent  only  affects 
the  conclusions  already  reached  as  to  the  vanishing  profit 
on  passenger  traffic  by  making  the  situation  so  much  the 
worse.  For  the  purpose  now  in  view,  viz.,  to  ascertain 
in  what  class  of  operating  expenses  the  cost  per  passenger 
mile  has  varied  in  this  period  of  five  years,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  use  the  analysis  given  in  the  "  Comparative  Sum- 
mary," and  to  our  surprise  we  find  that  in  every  item  ex- 
cept in  maintenance  of  way  there  has  been  a  comparative 
increase — very  slight  in  maintenance  of  equipment,  but 
marked  in  conducting  transportation  and  general  expenses. 

Permit  m^  now  to  return  to  the  opinions  which  I  have 
already  expressed  as  to  the  different  tendencies  of  our 
traffic  managements  respecting  freight  and  passenger  busi- 
ness— viz.,  to  reduce  the  rate  per  ton  mile,  but  to  maintain 
the  rate  per  passenger  mile.  From  the  figures  given  with 
regard  to  the  cost  per  passenger  mile,  we  are  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  competition  as  to  passenger  traffic 
has  taken  the  direction  of  better  service,  faster  and  more 
numerous  trains,  additional  sleepers  and  dining  cars. 

The  cost  and  revenue  per  passenger  train  mile  are  given 
as  follows  : 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAI?"   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.      125 


PER  TRAIN  MILE. 

1889.  1893.  Increase.  Decrease. 

Revenue $1.06.287    $1.06.819    0.00.532  

Cost 83.068         .82.948     0.00.120 


Net 23.219         .23.871    0.00.652 


1893. 

Inc. 

Dec. 

17.05 

1.19 

13  80 

0.36 

43.92 

2.28 

9.22 

1.56 

.07 

.... 

0.11 

The  average  profit  per  passenger  train  mile  has  in- 
creased but  .6  of  one  cent  in  five  years,  while  the 
average  number  of  passengers  per  train  remain  at  42  in 
1893  as  in  1889,  and  the  average  haul  of  each  passenger 
has  fallen  from  24.47  miles  to  23.79  miles. 

The  following  comparative  analysis  of  the  proportion 
of  expenses  chargeable  to  passenger  service  is  taken  from 
the  "  Competitive  Summary  "  on  the  train  mile  basis  in- 
stead of  the  cost  per  passenger  mile. 

COMPARATIVE  COST  PER  PASSENGER  TRAIN  MILE  IN  CENTS. 

1889. 

Maintenance  way 18.24 

Maintenance  equipment 13.44 

Conducting  transportation. . . .  41.64 

General  expenses 7.66 

Not  classified 18 

Total 81.16    84.04    2.90 

These  figures  differ  from  the  figures  above  quoted  from 
the  body  of  the  report,  as  they  show  that  the  cost  per  train 
mile  has  increased  in  five  years  2.9  cents,  while  in  the  body 
of  the  report  the  cost  is  stated  to  have  slightly  decreased. 
Taking  the  comparison  for  what  it  may  be  worth,  we  see 
that  there  has  been  a  marked  increase  per  train  mile  in 
conducting  transportation  and  in  general  expenses.  Here, 
again,  if  any  material  reduction  is  to  be  made  it  must  be 
in  wages. 

However  the  statistics  in  these  reports  may  be  analyzed 
and  applied,  so  far  as  they  are  capable  of  practical  ap- 
plication to  the  future  management  of  the  railroad  system 
of  this  country,  the  unvarying  conclusion  as  to  freight 
traffic  is  that  the  average  railroad,  in  point  of  revenue, 
cannot  remain  solvent  with  any  further  reduction  in  the 


126  AMERICAN"  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

rate  per  ton  mile.  The  average  revenue  per  mile  of  road  in 
1893  from  freight  traffic  was  less  than  $5,000  per  mile, 
and  the  average  rate  per  ton  mile  was  .878  cent. 

The  pressure  to  reduce  rates  is  applied  from  two  direc- 
tions :  on  local  traffic,  from  State  railroad  commissions, 
where  they  control  rates,  and  on  competitive  traffic,  from 
unregulated  competition.  Unwelcome  and  irrational  as 
may  be  the  exercise  of  the  rate-making  power  by  State 
commissions,  the  evil  effect  upon  the  welfare  of  our  rail- 
road system  from  this  cause  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
injury  growing  out  of  the  denial  of  the  right  to  make  con- 
tracts for  the  division  of  competitive  traffic.  As  well 
throw  a  piece  of  meat  into  a  dog-kennel  and  expect  it  to  be 
divided  fairly  according  to  the  needs  of  each  inmate  as  to 
expect  rates  on  competitive  traffic  to  be  uniform  as  between 
shippers  similarly  situated.  In  either  case  an  external 
power  must  be  invoked  if  justice  is  to  be  done. 

It  is  for  the  protection  of  the  smaller  shippers  and  for 
the  weaker  railroad  companies  that  contracts  for  main- 
tenance of  rates  by  division  of  revenue  should  be  legalized, 
and  that  the  offending  railroad  managements  should  be 
amenable  in  the  courts  for  the  injury  occasioned  by  their 
disregard  of  their  plighted  faith.  When  this  is  done  secret 
rebates  will  cease,  because  there  will  be  no  longer  any  ad- 
vantage in  granting  them  and  the  corrupting  influences 
which  with  unrestricted  sompetition  pervade  our  railroad 
corporations  will  be  greatly  diminished  in  virulence. 

The  difficulties  in  the  regulation  of  passenger  traffic  are 
of  a  different  character.  They  arise  mainly  from  the  ex- 
travagance which  is  general  in  the  conduct  of  the  service. 
Luxuries  in  the  way  of  sleeping  cars  and  dining  cars  are 
provided  where  the  revenue  from  the  passengers  so  ac- 
commodated does  not  justify  the  railroad  companies  in 
furnishing  them,  and  the  passenger  who  rides  at  night  in 
the  day  coach  and  snatches  his  food  from  a  lunch  counter 
pays  out  of  proportion  for  what  he  gets. 

The  remedy  lies  in  reducing  competitive  tr^in  service 


ADDRESSES,  AMEEICAN   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION.      127 

and  by  so  doing  to  increase  the  revenue  per  train  mile. 
It  is  not  the  increased  ratj  per  passenger  mile  that  adds 
to  the  net  revenue  of  a  railroad  company,  but  the  increased 
returns  per  train  mile. 

The  average  gross  revenue  from  passenger  traffic  per 
mile  of  road  in  1893  was  about  $1,800,  and  per  train  mile 
about  $1.06,  and  on  many  roads  where  the  average  is  far  be- 
low these  figures  the  sleeping  car  service  and  the  frequency 
and  speed  of  passenger  trains  will  be  found  to  be  governed 
rather  by  competitive  zeal  than  by  the  net  revenue  per 
train  mile.  The  lavish  distribution  of  free  passes  is  also 
an  abuse  which  results  in  a  loss  of  net  revenue  that  might 
readily  be  secured  by  joint  action  on  the  part  of  our  rail- 
road managements,  but  no  single  management  can  cope 
with  it. 

The  investigation  of  the  cost  of  the  services  rendered 
by  the  railroads  as  compared  with  the  compensation  re- 
ceived is  necessarily  an  uninviting  task.  It  leads  one 
through  pages  of  statistics  frequently  to  find  after  labori- 
ous analysis  that  the  facts  are  so  stated  as  to  be  incapable 
of  practical  application.  And  even  when  conclusions 
are  reached  which  appear  to  be  well  founded  they  are  at 
last  but  averages  which  each  one  of  us  may  look  upon 
as  inapplicable  to  the  particular  conditions  under  which 
his  own  road  is  operated.  Still  I  believe  that  no  person 
interested  in  our  railroad  system,  either  as  owner  or  man- 
ager can  follow  the  figures  and  reasoning  contained  in 
this  address  without  agreeing  with  me  that  there  is  no 
margin  for  further  reduction  in  freight  rates,  and  that  the 
passenger  traffic  is  at  present  being  conducted  without 
profit  as  a  whole  to  our  railroad  system. 


128  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 


EAILEOAD  ORGANIZATION". 

(October  16,  1895,  at  Hotel  Brunswick,  New  York.) 

Order  is  Heaven's  first  law  !  This  is  as  true  of  human 
organization  as  of  divine.  Without  order  confusion  fol- 
lows and  inefficiency.  The  more  complicated  and  exten- 
sive the  organization  the  more  essential  is  orderly  method. 

This  is  the  test  to  be  applied  to  any  method  of  organi- 
zation. Does  it  secure  for  the  end  proposed  the  greatest 
efficiency  at  the  least  cost  ?  AVith  this  test  in  mind,  let 
us  consider  the  principles  essential  to  an  efficient  railroad 
organization. 

A  railroad  corporation  is  divisahle  into  two  parts ; 
that  Avhich  it  has  in  common  with  other  corporations, 
and  that  which  is  peculiar  to  the  operations  of  a  railroad. 

To  the  corporate  part  belongs  the  corporate  business 
of  the  company,  as  also  its  financial  and  legal  affairs. 
It  therefore  includes  the  offices  of  the  president,  direct- 
ors, secretary,  treasurer,  auditor  and  legal  counsel. 

The  railroad  organization  proper  has  to  be  considered 
with  reference  to  the  end  for  which  the  corporation  has 
been  formed  ;  the  transportation  of  persons  and  things 
by  rail  with  safety  and  dispatch.  To  the  extent  that 
this  purpose  is  attained  the  organization  is  efficient.  In 
whatever  respect  that  purpose  is  not  attained,  in  that 
respect  the  organization  is  defective. 

A  fundamental  requisite  of  an  efficient  organization 
is  that  there  shall  be  a  clearly  defined  division  of  re- 
sponsibility among  the  several  officials  and  employees  who 
carry  on  the  operations  for  which  it  is  formed.  This  di- 
vision of  responsibility  naturally  follows  the  line  of 
separation  between  the  duties  to  be  performed.  These 
duties  in  a  railroad  organization  are  readily  separable 


-       ^  OF   THB 

ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATIOll  TD1S9[VERS 

into  certain  general  departments,  which  may  be  brielf^ 
described  as  follows  : 

First,  as  relating  to  the  roadway. 

Second,  as  relating  to  the  vehicles  passing  over  the  road- 
way. 

Third,  as  relating  to  the  persons  and  things  transported 
in  those  vehicles. 

There  are  therefore  three,  and  only  three,  grand  divi- 
sions of  railroad  operation.  There  may  be  other  duties 
and  operations  incidental  to  the  main  purposes  of  rail- 
road transportation,  but,  whatever  they  may  be,  they  are 
referable  to  one  of  those  three  divisions  or  departments. 
This  classification  is  simple  and  should  be  rigidly  adhered 
to  if  a  clearly  understood  division  of  responsibility  is  to  be 
kept  in  view.  It  does  not  include  the  collection  of  revenue, 
as  that  is  not  an  essential  element  of  railroad  transporta- 
tion, but  belongs  to  the  corporate  administration,  and  as 
a  matter  of  railroad  organization  should  be  considered 
apart  from  the  departments  pertaining  strictly  to  the  trans- 
portation of  persons  and  things. 

Taking  these  departments  one  by  one  and  beginning 
with  that  relating  to  the  roadway,  it  should  include  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  everything  that  is  part 
of  the  roadbed  and  of  the  real  estate  belonging  to  the  com- 
pany, or  which  is  permanently  attached  to  either  ;  as 
tracks,  fences,  water  stations,  shops  and  all  other  struc- 
tures. Permanent  train  signals  should  also  be  included. 
Not  that  the  officials  of  the  roadway  department  should 
determine  the  character  of  such  signals,  but  that,  after 
this  has  been  determined,  they  should  be  responsible  for 
the  condition  in  which  such  signals  are  maintained. 

The  next  department  relates  to  vehicles  passing  over 
the  roadway  and  includes  the  construction  and  mainten- 
ance of  locomotives  and  cars  of  all  kinds  ;  as  also  of  all 
tools  and  appliances  used  for  such  purposes,  but  not  the 
control  of  the  men  employed  in  train  service.  The  line 
of  diYJsioii  here  should  be  at  the  engine  house.     Engine- 


130  AMERICAN    llAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

men  and  firemen  are  not  responsible  for  the  construction 
or  maintenance  of  locomotives  any  more  than  conductors 
and  brakemen  are  for  the  condition  of  cars,  and  therefore 
neither  class  of  trainmen  can  be  properly  classified  in  the 
rolling  stock  or  machinery  department. 

The  third  department  relates  to  the  persons  and  things 
transported.  It  is  the  transportation  department  proper 
for  which  the  other  departments  exist,  and  which  are  in 
fact  auxiliary  to  it.  It  includes  all  persons  employed 
in  receiving,  caring  for,  transporting  and  delivering  the 
persons  and  things  intrusted  to  the  railroad  company  for 
transportation. 

These  then  are  the  three  departments  of  a  railroad,  the 
roadway,  the  machinery  and  the  transportation  depart- 
ments. To  be  efficient  each  should  be  under  a  single  head, 
and  cM  should  be  under  one  managing  officer,  himself  re- 
sponsible to  the  corporation. 

In  this  division  of  railroad  operations  nothing  has  been 
said  about  what  is  known  as  the  traffic  department,  and 
for  the  reason  that  the  department  known  by  that  name 
in  this  country  has  no  proper  sphere  of  action  so  far  as 
(the  railroad  is  concerned.  It  properly  belongs  to  tlio 
revenue  department  of  the  corporation.  For  the  making 
of  tariffs  and  the  collection  of  revenue  are  matters  which 
affect  the"  welfare  of  the  corporation,  but  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  transportation  of  persons  and  things  with 
safety  and  dispatch,  and  it  is  only  when  the  two  purposes 
coincide  that  there  can  be  any  doubt  as  to  where  the  line 
of  responsibility  should  be  drawn  between  the  persons 
having  the  matters  in  hand. 

In  handling  freight,  the  persons  who  receive,  load, 
transport,  unload  and  deliver,  clearly  belong  to  the  trans- 
portation department,  while  those  who  affix  the  rates  to 
the  billing  and  those  who  collect  the  charges  do  not.  The 
latter  belong  to  the  revenue  department  of  the  corporation, 
and  have  no  more  to  do  with  transportation  than  the  man 
who  fixes  the  price  for  a  barrel  of  flour  or  who  collects 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOOIATIOl^.      131 

the  money  when  it  is  sold,  has  to  do  with  growing  the 
wheat  or  milling  the  grain  from  which  the  flour  is  made. 
The  same  is  true  of  passenger  traffic.  The  man  who  sells 
the  tickets  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  transportation  of 
passengers,  and  if  the  tickets,  when  sold,  were  not  col- 
lected on  the  train,  the  train  men  would  in  no  way  be 
connected  with  the  revenue  department  of  the  corporation. 

Inviting  business,  either  by  advertisements  or  by  per- 
sonal solicitation,  is  also  a  matter  entirely  foreign  to  the 
management  of  a  railroad,  for  it  is  something  which  af- 
fects revenue  but  not  transportation. 

The  traffic  department,  as  we  know  it,  might  therefore 
be  separated  entirely  from  the  railroad  organization  and 
be  absorbed  into  the  corporate  management,  without  detri- 
ment to  the  safe  and  prompt  transportation  of  persons 
and  things,  and  very  probably  to  the  advantage  oi*  the 
corporation. 

For  the  proper  conduct  of  the  operations  of  a  railroad 
as  a  means  of  transportation,  the  manager,  with  his  sub-, 
ordinates,  should  be  responsible  to  the  corporation,  and 
for  the  making  of  tariffs,  the  solicitation  of  business  and 
the  collection  of  revenue,  the  traffic  manager  should  be 
responsible. 

There  is  yet  to  be  considered  the  purchase,  storage  and 
distribution  of  materials  and  supplies.  It  would  seem 
that  the  purchasing  belongs  to  the  corporate  management, 
and  the  caring  for  and  the  distribution  of  supplies  to  the 
railroad  management  proper.  This  division  of  responsi- 
bility can  be  adv.'>.ntageously  made  where  there  are  suitable 
methods  for  making  requisitions,  specifications  and  tests. 

And  now  to  a  more  detailed  consideration  of  the  organi- 
zation in  each  department.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
roadway  department  should  have  at  its  head  a  civil  en- 
gineer experienced  in  railroad  work.  The  operations 
under  him  readily  fall  into  certain  sub-divisions  ;  as  the 
maintenance   of  roadbed   and  track,   for   one  thing,   of 


132  AMERICAiq"   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT.     ' 

bridges,  of  buildings,  of  signal  apparatus,  of  pumping  ma- 
chinery, etc. 

The  track  should  be  maintained  in  sections  of  no  less 
length  than  would  require  the  attention  of  a  gang  suffi- 
cient to  handle  a  rail  or  a  hand-car  readily,  nor  should 
it  be  so  long  that  the  foreman  cannot  properly  inspect 
his  entire  section  daily  on  a  velocipede  and  still  look  after 
his  gang. 

The  track  section  is  thus  the  unit  on  which  the  opera- 
tions of  the  roadway  department  are  based,  and  the  num- 
ber of  sections  to  be  placed  under  the  supervision  of  one 
roadmaster  should  be  limited  by  his  ability  to  pass  over 
a  certain  track  mileage  for  purposes  of  inspection  in  a 
single  day.  As  a  general  thing  it  will  be  found  that  a 
roadmaster  or  supervisor  cannot  properly  look  after  more 
than  one  hundred  miles  of  track.  Besides  the  usual 
section  gangs,  he  will  require  a  bridge  gang  for  the  repairs 
of  ordinary  trestle  bridges,  a  house  carpenter  gang  for  re- 
pairs of  buildings,  a  man  to  care  for  water  station  machin- 
ery, plumbing,  etc.,  and  perhaps  another  to  keep  the  signal 
appliances  in  order. 

The  inspection  and  maintenance  of  the  more  important 
structures,  including  bridges,  should  be  directly  under 
the  head  of  the  roadway  department  and  should  be  in 
charge  of  a  competent  engineer,  to  whom  the  inspection  of 
all  bridges  should  be  assigned.  This  inspection  should  be 
personal  and  without  reference  to  the  roadmaster  or  his 
men. 

The  organization  then  of  the  roadway  department 
should  consist  of  an  engineer  of  maintenance  of  way  with 
one  or  more  assistant  engineers  reporting  directly  to  him, 
as  also  one  or  more  road  masters  responsible  for  the  section 
gangs  in  charge  of  track  and  the  forces  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  buildings,  bridges,  fuel  and  water  stations 
and  permanent  signal  apparatus.  To  the  roadway  de- 
partment should  be  assigned  the  care  of  shop  buildings 
and  engine  bouses  as  well  ag  of  any  other  structures,  for  it 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAK  RAILWAY  ASSOClATlOK.      133 

does  not  follow  that  a  good  machinist  is  a  good  house 
carpenter,  and  it  is  more  economical  to  have  all  inspection 
and  repairs  of  buildings  under  one  head  than  to  have  that 
responsibility  divided. 

We  next  come  to  the  department  in  charge  of  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  locomotives  and  cars — 
briefly  termed  the  machinery  department — and  which  is 
readily  divisible  into  the  locomotive  department  and  the 
car  department.  On  some  roads  each  of  these  departments 
may  be  in  charge  of  a  foreman.  On  others  the  shops  may 
be  so  extensive  as  to  justify  a  more  radical  separation  of 
the  two  under  a  master  machinist  for  the  one  and  a  master 
car  builder  for  the  other,  but  the  whole  department  should 
be  under  the  control  of  a  competent  mechanical  engineer, 
to  be  styled  the  mechanical  superintendent. 

This  department  should  not  control  the  employment 
of  enginemen,  firemen,  wipers,  or  car  cleaners,  for  this 
class  of  men  belongs  to  train  service  and  not  to  mainten- 
ance. This  is  also  true  of  the  storage  and  issuing  of  fuel 
for  locomotives,  which  is  not  necessarily  connected  with 
shop  work  and  is  more  or  less  distributed  along  the  road. 

Where  there  are  several  division  shops,  the  principal 
repairs  or  reconstruction  of  rolling  stock  should  be  con- 
centrated at  one  of  them,  for  special  tools  can  thus  be  more 
profitably  employed,  and  also  a  better  class  of  draughts- 
men and  mechanical  engineers  than  if  such  work  were 
scattered  among  all  the  shops  on  the  road. 

Designs,  plans,  specifications  and  contracts  for  new 
work  should  be  prepared  in  the  office  of  the  mechanical 
superintendent,  and  if  locomotives  or  cars  are  built  by  the 
company  to  any  considerable  extent,  the  shops  for  this 
work  should  also  be  directly  under  his  supervision. 

The  organization  of  the  machinery  department  would 
then  comprise  a  mechanical  superintendent,  assisted  by 
a  master  machinist  in  charge  of  the  locomotive  depart- 
ment and  a  master  car  builder  in  charge  of  the  car  de- 
partment, with  foremen  in  charge  of  the  several  division 


134  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

shops  and  a  competent  mechanical  engineer  in  charge  of 
the  principal  shop  in  which  all  new  work  and  recon- 
struction is  carried  on.  There  will  also  be  required  the 
services  of  a  general  storekeeper. 

Next  in  order  is  the  transportation  department,  to  which 
is  assigned  the  work  for  which  the  track  and  the  rolling 
stock  have  been  built  and  are  maintained.  The  manner  in 
which  its  operations  are  conducted  is  the  test  as  to  whether 
persons  and  things  are  transported  over  the  railroad  with 
safety  and  dispatch,  and  upon  the  manner  of  its  organi- 
zation is  largely  dependent  the  success  of  the  corporation. 
The  head  of  this  department  should  control  all  the  in- 
strumentalities essential  to  transportation  from  the  time 
that  a  person  or  thing  comes  under  the  care  of  the  cor- 
poration until  they  pass  out  of  it.  Such  a  control  would 
cover  all  responsibility  in  that  connection  not  already  as- 
signed to  the  roadway  and  machinery  departments,  and 
would  exclude  the  making  of  tariffs,  the  solicitation  of 
business,  the  collection  of  revenue,  and  the  purchasing  of 
materials  and  supplies.  It  would  include  the  station  and 
yard  service,  the  cleaning  and  handling  of  engines  and 
cars,  the  movement  of  trains,  the  receiving,  loading  and  bill- 
ing, unloading  and  delivery  of  freight,  etc.  The  units  of 
service  are  the  station  force  and  the  train  crew,  and  this  is 
broadly  the  division  of  responsibility  in  transportation 
service.  Until  a  train  has  been  made  up  both  the  vehicles 
and  the  objects  to  be  transported  are  under  the  control  of 
the  station  forces.  But  when  the  vehicles  have  been  as- 
sembled into  a  train,  the  control  of  train  and  contents 
is  necessarily  of  a  different  character  until  the  service  has 
been  performed  and  the  train  disintegrated. 

It  would  seem  then  that  the  superintendent  of  trans- 
portation should  be  assisted  by  a  chief  in  each  branch  of 
service — a  chief  of  station  service  and  a  chief  of  train  ser- 
vice. Under  the  former  should  be  placed  station  masters 
and  agents  with  their  subordinate  clerks,  porters  and 
laborers  and  yard  masters  with  their  switching  crews, 


ADDRESSES,  AMERtCAlt  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION^.      135 

while  the  latter  should  control  the  trainmen,  telegraph 
operators  and  signal  men.  Such  a  classification  clearly 
defines  the  responsibility  for  each  kind  of  service.  Sep- 
arate provision,  of  course,  should  be  made  for  conducting 
other  service  incidental  to  transportation,  but  which  is 
neither  station  nor  train  service. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  define  the  lines  of  division  between 
the  traffic  and  the  transportation  departments,  still  they 
.  impinge  on  each  other  at  but  few  points.  A  ticket 
seller  in  a  station  building  holds  a  divided  allegiance,  but 
one  in  a  city  office  does  not.  In  fact,  so  far  as  the  station 
ticket  bureau  is  a  bureau  of  information  it  belongs  to  the 
transportation  department  proper,  but  so  far  as  it  is  an 
office  for  the  collection  of  passage  fares  it  does  not.  It 
is  also  true  of  a  passenger  train  conductor  that  in  the  col- 
lection of  fares  and  the  inspection  of  tickets  he  is  respon- 
sible to  the  revenue  department.  Baggage  masters  at 
stations  occupy  a  similar  relation  to  the  revenue  depart- 
ment in  the  collection  of  baggage  charges  and  inspection  of 
tickets  before  checking.  In  handling  freight  the  trans- 
portation department  first  comes  in  touch  with  the  rev- 
enue department  when  the  freight  has  been  billed  and  the 
charges  are  to  be  affixed,  and  again  for  the  collection  of 
charges  when  the  articles  are  delivered.  Very  little 
thought,  however,  is  req  lired  to  dispose  of  this  dual  re- 
sponsibility in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

There  is  a  broader  view  to  be  taken  of  railroad  organi- 
zation where  the  service  is  extended  over  a  long  line  or  over 
many  branches.  Here  the  responsibility  must  not  only 
be  divided  by  departments  but  also  by  territorial  districts 
or  divisions. 

The  main  issue  to  be  determined  is  whether  the  de- 
partmental responsibility  shall  continue  through  directly 
to  the  head  of  the  department  regardless  of  the  territorial 
division,  or  whether  it  shall  be  concentrated  in  each  of 
these  divisions  before  reaching  the  head  of  each  depart- 
ment.    The  same  question  has  been  agitated  as  to  army 


136  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

organization  ;  that  is,  whether  a  division  or  army  corps 
should  be  treated  as  a  unit  in  itself  or  as  part  of  a  greater 
unit,  the  army.  Indeed  it  has  been  carried  farther  yet,  to 
the  point  that  whether  in  an  army  there  should  be  certain 
departments  not  directly  responsible  to  the  commanding 
officer  but  to  certain  chiefs  of  bureaus  of  administration. 

The  proper  test  to  be  applied  is  still  that  of  the  great- 
est efficiency  at  the  least  cost,  and  this  again  involves  the 
placing  of  responsibility  where  it  cannot  be  shifted  in 
case  of  failure  or  neglect.  That  for  which  a  man  is  to  be 
held  responsible  that  he  should  control  and  all  the  instru- 
mentalities essential  to  that  control.  To  the  extent  to 
which  a  division  or  corps  commander  is  expected  to  act 
independently,  to  that  extent  his  authority  should  con- 
trol. To  whatever  degree  the  operations  in  his  sphere 
of  authority  are  to  be  co-ordinated  with  operations  out- 
side of  that  sphere,  to  that  degree  he  cannot  act  in- 
dependently and  co-ordination  be  secured. 

Applying  this  principle  to  railroad  management,  it 
would  seem  best  to  give  free  rein  to  a  division  superin- 
tendent up  to  that  point  where  it  is  essential  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  transportation  system  as  a  whole,  that  his 
course  should  be  brought  in  accord  with  the  course  of 
other  officials  outside  of  his  sphere  of  action.  His  sphere 
of  action  is  his  division  of  the  road,  and  within  that  di- 
vision there  should  be  no  divided  authority  covering  the 
transportation  of  persons  or  things  with  safety  and  dis- 
patch. But  for  this  to  be  successfully  accomplished  the 
operations  upon  his  own  division  must  be  in  certain  re- 
spects co-ordinated  with  the  operations  upon  other  di- 
visions of  the  road.  Here  come  into  play  the  general 
rules  for  the  movement  of  trains  and  the  regulation  of  the 
conduct  of  employees,  the  preparation  and  observance  of 
through  time-tables  and  of  mechanical  standards.  His 
authority  upon  his  division  is  exercised  subject  to  those 
restrictions  which  must  necessarily  be  prescribed  by  an 
authority  superior*  to  his  own.     In  these  respects,  then, 


ADDRESSES,  AMeRICAK  RAILWAY  ASSOClATlOlT.     137 

his  responsibility  does  not  extend  beyond  the  observance 
of  such  restrictions.  There  is  yet  another  phase  of  this 
territorial  responsibility  which  involves  the  divided  al- 
legiance of  department  employees  to  the  division  superin- 
tendent and  to  the  department  chief.  It  does  not  arise  so 
much  in  the  transportation  department — that  is,  in 
station  service  or  train  service — for  employees  in  such 
service  can  only  reach  their  department  chief,  the  general 
superintendent  of  transportation,  through  the  division 
superintendent.  But  it  does  arise  in  connection  with  the 
roadway  and  machinery  departments. 

Shall  the  division  superintendent  be  entirely  relieved 
from  responsibility  as  to  the  condition  of  track  or  equip- 
ment ?  This  question  is  in  some  respects  answered  by 
asking  another.  Will  the  efficiency  of  the  service  be 
diminished  in  any  way  if  he  be  so  relieved  ? 

All  railroad  operations  may  be  considered  in  one  of 
two  ways,  either  theoretically  or  practically.  Territori- 
ally, these  points  of  view  coincide  in  the  position  occupied 
by  the  division  superintendent.  Now,  shall  there  also  be 
for  each  territorial  division  a  division  superintendent  of 
roadway  and  one  of  equipment,  respectively  reporting  to 
the  chief  engineer  and  to  the  mechanical  superintendent  ? 
Or  will  not  this  multiplication  of  offices  and  the  attendant 
division  of  responsibility  be  avoided  by  extending  the 
authority  of  the  division  superintendent  of  transportation 
to  some  extent  over  the  operation  of  the  machinery  and 
roadway  departments  within  the  limits  of  his  division  ? 
Plainly  it  will,  if  that  authority  be  not  extended  beyond 
the  limit  of  efficiency. 

My  own  experience  leads  me  to  believe  that  the  ordi- 
nary roadway  forces  can  very  well  be  subjected  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  division  superintendent ;  that  the  latter 
should  conform  to  the  regulations  established  by  the  chief 
engineer  as  to  standards,  but  that  the  care  of  important 
structures  should  be  directly  under  the  chief  engineer. 
The  selection  of  frogs  and  switches  and  the  responsibility 


13t^  AMERICAN  HAILWaY  MAKAGEME^'T. 

for  track  supplies  should  also  rest  with  the  chief  engineer, 
who  should  issue  them  on  the  requisition  of  the  division 
superintendent;,  so  that  the  use  of  all  kinds  of  material 
of  different  sizes  and  dimensions  may  be  prevented  and 
standards  be  preserved.  The  effect  of  this  policy  would 
be  that  the  division  superintendent  would  represent  the 
chief  engineer  on  his  division  just  as  he  did  the  general 
superintendent  of  transportation,  except  in  those  matters 
requiring  special  technical  training. 

The  same  policy  may  be  pursued  with  reference  to  the 
mechanical  department,  though  perhaps  in  a  different  way. 
A  division  superintendent  can  get  over  his  own  division 
much  oftener  than  the  mechanical  superintendent  can  be 
expected  to  go,  and  if  he  be  permitted  to  exercise  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  supervision  over  the  shops  in  a  practical  way, 
he  can  form  a  pretty  good  opinion  as  to  how  the  work  is 
going  on  and  to  what  particular  work  preference  should 
be  given.  A  good  deal  of  work  for  the  roadway  depart- 
ment is  done  in  these  division  shops,  and  here  it  is  well 
that  there  should  be  no  division  of  responsibility  as  to 
neglect  or  delay. 

The  conclusion  to  which  this  reasoning  brings  us  is 
that  within  the  territorial  authority  of  a  division  super- 
intendent all  railroad  operations  should  be  under  his 
supervision,  except  as  to  regulations,  standards,  impor- 
tant purchases  and  the  inspection  of  important  structures. 
The  threads  of  authority  thus  gathered  together  in  his 
hands  should  from  that  point  tend  to  the  three  depart- 
ment heads,  the  chief  engineer,  the  mechanical  superin- 
tendent and  the  general  superintendent  of  transportation, 
to  be  again  brought  together  in  the  general  manager's 
office. 

There  are  three  men  who  make  or  mar  the  reputation 
of  a  railroad  company  with  its  patrons  :  the  passenger 
train  conductor,  the  station  agent  and  the  division  super- 
intendent. Within  the  scope  of  his  authority  each  of 
them  should  be  put  in  a  position  to  determine  definitely 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAK  RAILWAY  ASSOClATIOK.      139 

and  promptly  any  matter  that  may  be  referred  to  him 
from  persons  having  business  with  him.  Further  refer- 
ence to  distant  superior  authority  leads  to  delay  and  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  railroad  company.  With  proper  rules 
and  regulations  it  is  practicable  to  enable  either  a  con- 
ductor or  an  agent  to  say  yes  or  no  promptly  to  any 
question  that  may  be  asked  of  him  in  the  line  of  his  duty. 

The  relations  of  the  division  superintendent  to  the  pub- 
lic are  of  a  different  character.  To  the  people  having 
business  with  the  road  he  is  the  embodiment  of  the  cor- 
poration. When  they  want  anything  they  go  to  him 
for  it,  and  if  it  is  evident  to  them  that  he  can  answer 
nothing  definitely,  that  matters  of  routine  have  to  be  re- 
ferred to  a  distance,  for  the  endorsement  of  some  superior 
official  before  a  definite  answer  can  be  given,  they  not 
only  chafe  at  the  delay  but  they  feel  that  an  adverse  de- 
cision is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  have  not  been  heard, 
that  they  have  not  had  their  day  in  court.  For  these 
reasons,  therefore,  the  division  superintendent  should  be 
entrusted  with  very  considerable  discretionary  powers  in 
dealing  with  the  people  among  whom  he  lives  and  with 
whom  he  is  in  daily  communication.  Where  this  is  done 
they  feel  that  their  interests  are  considered  by  the  rail- 
road management.  Where  it  is  not  done  they  repeat  the 
trite  sayings  about  corporations  having  no  souls,  and  about 
gigantic  monopolies,  and  are  the  ready  prey  of  designing 
demagogues. 

By  all  means  then  the  division  superintendent  should 
be  held  up  to  the  public  as  the  immediate  authority  in 
all  matters  of  ordinary  interest  to  them  and  should  be 
invested  with  power  corresponding  to  that  position.  It 
is  a  mistake  to  make  of  him  nothins:  more  than  a  chief 
of  train  service,  a  mere  link  in  an  endless  chain  of  officials 
propelled  by  motive  power  a  thousand  miles  away. 


140  AMERICA  it  Railway  makagemekt. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  WORK  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION 
FOR  TEN  YEARS.  INTERNATIONAL  RAILWAY 
CONGRESS.  INTRODUCTION  OF  AMERICAN 
METHODS    ON    FOREIGN   RAILWAYS. 

(April  15,  1896,  at  Burnet  House,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.) 

Ten  years  ago,  in  this  very  city  of  Cincinnati,  the 
American  Railway  Association  was  formed  by  the  consoli- 
dation of  the  General  Time  Convention  with  the  Southern 
Railway  Time  Convention.  In  looking  backward  over 
this  decade,  what  justification  do  w^e  find  for  the  existence 
of  this  Association  ?  To  what  extent  has  it  fulfilled  its 
object — "the  development  and  solution  of  problems  con- 
nected with  railroad  management  in  the  mutual  interest 
of  the  railroad  companies  of  America  "  ? 

Had  it  accomplished  nothing  else  than  the  general 
adoption  of  Standard  Time,  or  the  preparation  of  the 
Standard  Code  of  Train  Rules,  or  the  adoption  of  the 
interchangeable  type  of  automatic  freight  car  coupler, 
or  of  the  standard  height  of  freight  car  draw-bar,  or  of 
the  uniform  location  of  hand-hold  and  grab  irons,  or 
the  general  recognition  of  car  service  associations,  the 
development  and  solution  of  either  one  of  these  problems, 
all  of  which  are  due  to  this  Association,  would  in  itself 
have  justified  its  existence. 

But  the  work  which  in  the  past  it  has  accomplished 
is  but  an  earnest  of  its  possible  usefulness  in  the  future. 
Those  who  have  observed  its  growth  appreciate  its  adapt- 
ability to  the  broader  fields  of  utility  in  the  mutual  interest 
of  the  railroad  companies  of  America.  It  is  not  only 
available  for  co-operation  among  the  railroad  manage- 
ments themselves,  but  also  as  the  means  of  communication 
between  the  American  railway  system  as  a  whole  and  the 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION".      141 

American  people  as  a  whole  on  any  matter  affecting  the 
practical  management  of  railroads. 

This  was  forcibly  illustrated  by  the  service  which  the 
Association  was  able  to  render  in  the  Congressional  legis- 
lation which  resulted  in  the  Safety  Appliance  Act.  The 
public  interest  which  had  been  excited  for  the  protection 
of  railroad  employees  in  coupling  cars  found  vent  in  a 
vigorous  demand  for  statutory  measures  that  was  recog- 
nized in  the  platforms  of  the  two  principal  parties  then 
about  to  engage  in  a  contest  for  the  election  of  a  President 
of  the  United  States.  The  Congressional  Committees  on 
Inter-State  Commerce  undertook  to  determine  technical 
questions  relating  to  safety  appliances.  Voluntary  com- 
mittees of  State  railroad  commissioners  and  of  labor  or- 
ganizations came  to  their  assistance.  Inventors,  cranks, 
promoters  and  lobbyists  played  a  part  as  well,  until  the 
opportunity  was  offered  for  the  representatives  of  the 
American  Eailway  Association  to  appear  before  the  Con- 
gressional committee  to  which  the  preparation  of  the  bill 
had  been  entrusted.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  members  of 
this  committee  that  they  recognized  the  character  of  the 
men  that  constituted  this  deputation.  They  recognized 
that  they  were  thoughtful  and  well  informed,  experienced 
in  the  matter  of  which  they  spoke,  and  earnest  in  their 
desire  to  bring  about  a  reform  in  the  general  use  of  railway 
appliances  ;  that  they  represented  no  cliques,  no  com- 
binations ;  that  they  were  influenced  by  no  unworthy 
motives,  but  that  they  represented  the  American  railway 
system  as  a  whole,  and  were  able  and  willing  to  indicate 
the  proper  solution  of  a  problem  beset  with  many  diffi- 
culties. The  committees  listened  to  them  patiently  and 
with  interest.  They  saw  the  way  to  relieve  themselves 
from  deciding  matters  of  technical  detail,  of  which  they 
were  ignorant,  by  referring  them  for  determination  to  a 
body  of  acknowledged  experts,  the  choice  of  the  men  who 
manage  the  practical  affairs  of  the  railways  of  this  country, 
^nd  to-day  you  will  find  in  the  Railway  Safety  Appliance 


142  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

Act  that  to  the  American  Eailway  Association  has  been 
given  the  authority  to  designate  the  technical  details  con- 
tained in  that  act,  which  is  now  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  way  has  thus  been  provided  for  determining  similar 
details  for  future  legislation,  for  where  can  be  found  a 
body  of  men  better  equipped  to  determine  them,  or  whose 
conclusions  would  be  more  readily  accepted  by  the  Amer- 
ican people  as  embodying  the  most  modern  railway  practice  ? 
And  recently  the  way  has  been  also  opened  to  even  a 
broader  field  of  usefulness  for  the  American  Eailway  As- 
sociation. 

What  was  known  in  this  country  of  the  International 
Eailway  Congress,  which  has  for  many  years  fulfilled  a 
similar  purpose  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  until  our  own 
Association  was  represented  in  that  body  at  the  London 
meeting  of  1895  ?  A  representative  of  some  one  of  our 
principal  roads  had  occasionally  appeared  at  one  of  its 
previous  meetings,  but  the  invitation  to  our  Association 
for  membership  aroused  an  interest  which  led  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  over  forty  American  delegates  at  the  London 
Congress.  It  is  true  that  this  was  but  a  small  minority 
of  the  seven  hundred  and  fifty  delegates  present,  but  the 
effect  producd  by  their  appearance  on  this  occasion  was 
out  of  all  proportion  to  their  numbers.  The  very  fact 
that  they  represented  a  greater  railway  mileage  than  all 
the  other  railway  delegates  particularly  emphasized  the 
presence  of  the  importance  of  the  American  delegation. 
The  additional  fact  that  they  were  akin  in  blood  and 
language  to  the  British  delegates  who  were  our  hosts  was 
another  cause  for  giving  them  a  prominent  place  on  many 
occasions.  The  opportunities  there  afforded  for  personal 
acquaintance  with  distinguished  representatives  of  the 
railway  managements  of  Continental  Europe,  of  South 
America,  of  Asia  and  of  Australia,  and  of  impressing  upon 
them  the  merits  of  American  practice,  were  of  a  character 
that  could  not  have  otherwise  been  obtained.  And  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  the  impressions  then  made  upon  the 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAK   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION,      143 

minds  of  these  men,  who  control  the  construction  and 
operation  of  the  railways  of  that  other  half  of  the  world 
beyond  the  seas,  will  tend  to  increase  their  desire  to  know 
something  more  about  the  appliances  and  methods 
which  in  one  generation  have  covered  our  country  with 
a  net-work  of  railways  about  equal  in  mileage  to  the  re- 
maining railways  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

And  here,  again,  is  a  field  of  usefulness  for  the  American 
Railway  Association,  the  extent  of  which  and  of  its  im- 
portance to  our  people  cannot  be  adequately  appreciated 
by  those  who  were  not  present  at  that  Congress.  It  is  the 
introduction  of  American  railway  methods  of  construction 
and  equipment  and  operation  on  that  tripartite  continent 
of  which  Europe  is  the  smallest  member. 

Of  that  continent  of  thirty-three  million  square  miles 
Europe  constitutes  but  one-ninth  in  area,  and  yet  Europe 
is  larger  than  the  United  States.  Of  the  total  railway 
mileage  of  the  world  nearly  one-half  is  in  this  country 
and  most  of  the  other  half  is  in  Europe. 

It  is  to  the  other  great  members  of  the  trans- Atlantic 
continent — it  is  to  Asia  and  Africa  that  I  would  draw 
your  attention,  with  their  area  of  nearly  thirty  million 
square  miles  and  their  population  of  one  thousand  million 
human  beings.  I  would  ask  you  to  lose  sight  of  the  great- 
ness of  your  own  people  for  a  moment,  of  your  population 
of  sixty- three  millions  and  your  territory  of  three  million 
square  miles,  and  think  of  these  other  lands  with  ten  times 
your  area  and  fifteen  times  your  population. 

Is  this  great  field  for  railroad  construction  and  man- 
agement to  be  disregarded  by  those  who  are  wont  to  boast 
of  American  energy  and  enterprise  ?  Are  we  to  remain 
contented  with  the  restricted  possibilities  for  American 
railway  men  and  for  American  manufacturers  of  railway 
material  in  the  maintenance  and  operation  of  roads  within 
our  own  national  boundaries  ?  So  long  as  we  are  adding 
from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  miles  a  year  to  our  existing 
mileage  the  opportunities  thus  afforded  them  might  have 


144  •    AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

been  sufficient  for  their  numbers  and  for  their  productive 
capacity,  but  the  conditions  are  now  becoming  different, 
both  for  railroad  men  and  manufacturers  in  this  country. 
We  are  approaching  gradually  to  the  conditions  which  pre- 
vail in  Europe,  where  there  are  more  men  and  larger  pro- 
(Juctive  plants  than  can  be  profitably  employed  at  home, 
and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  we  also  must  look 
abroad  for  their  employment. 

But  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  seek  for  such  oppor- 
tunities either  in  Great  Britain  or  in  the  western  states 
of  continental  Europe.  For  European  railway  construc- 
tion and  appliances  and  methods  of  operation  have  been 
firmly  founded  on  British  practice  ;  a  practice  so  differ- 
ent from  ours  in  all  respects,  even  in  technical  terms  and 
in  ordinary  railroad  slang,  that  our  own  railroad  men 
would  there  be  out  of  place,  whether  as  constructing  en- 
gineers, as  locomotive  runners,  conductors,  brakemen  or 
switchmen,  and  our  manufacturers  of  rails,  equipment  and 
appliances  as  well. 

Indeed,  Great  Britain  and  the  western  European  states 
themselves  now  look  abroad  for  profitable  employment 
for  their  men,  their  manufacturers  and  their  surplus 
capital.  Great  Britain  has  found  already  her  field  in  her 
own  colonies  and  foreign  possessions.  France  has  her 
vantage  ground  in  Africa,  in  Algeria  and  Senegal.  Little 
Belgium,  with  her  eleven  thousand  square  miles  of  ter- 
ritory and  her  six  million  people,  has  established  hers  in 
equatorial  Africa,  and  the  Germans,  just  now  outgrowing 
in  productiveness  their  own  needs,  are  eagerly  watching 
and  imitating  their  British  kinfolks.  Austria-Hungary, 
with  half  our  population,  is  stretching  her  rails  and  her 
trade  down  the  Danube  and  into  the  Balkan  Peninsula. 

In  considering  this  general  advance  of  European  coun- 
tries all  alongr  the  strategic  line  of  this  campaign  for 
African  and  Asiatic  trade,  we  may  well  say,  what  will 
be  left  of  the  United  States,  when  we  begin  to  look  be- 
jroiid  our  bgr^er?  ?    On  the  north  of  us  is  Canada,  British 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   ASSOCIATION.      14-5 

by  sentiment,  and  but  partly  American  in  railroad 
practice.  To  the  south  of  us  is  Mexico,  where  we  have 
some  advantage  over  European  methods  and  appliances  ; 
some  little  opportunity  in  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  and  more 
perhaps  in  Central  America.  Then  comes  the  semi-con- 
tinent of  South  America,  with  nearly  twice  oar  area  and 
half  our  population. 

This  is  our  sphere  of  action,  or,  at  least,  that  which 
will  be  left  to  us  if  we  close  our  eyes  to  what  is  going 
on  elsewhere  on  the  globe,  while  European  methods  of 
railway  construction  and  operation  are  being  initiated  in 
the  vast  regions  of  the  earth  still  unprovided  with  modern 
facilities  for  transportation.  If  we  wait  until  fifty 
miles  is  built  from  one  African  seaport  and  twenty  from 
another  into  the  heart  of  that  continent,  all  under  the 
British  system,  we  may  say  farewell  for  employment  there- 
after for  any  American  men  in  those  regions,  or  for  the 
sale  of  railway  appliances  of  American  make. 

If  French  or  Belgian  or  German  engineers  lay  out  a 
railroad  line  anywhere  on  the  habitable  globe,  the  French 
or  Belgium  or  German  appliances  follow,  as  surely  as  the 
thread  follows  the  needle.  There  is  Russia,  with  twice 
our  area  and  nearly  double  our  population,  just  inaugur- 
ating a  trans-continental  railway  system.  That  great  em- 
pire was  represented  at  the  London  Congress  by  a  delega- 
tion of  intelligent,  experienced  men,  eagerly  seeking  for 
information.  The  Japanese  representatives,  too,  were 
special  inquirers  as  to  American  methods. 

For,  after  all,  American  methods  are  best  suited  for 
opening  up  routes  on  which  the  traffic  has  yet  to  be 
created.  Whatever  is  best  in  European  practice  is  best 
adapted  to  routes  which  are  intended  to  furnish  facil- 
ities for  existing  traffic.  It  is  information  as  to  cheap 
methods  and  cheap  appliances  which  is  w^anted  by  those 
who  are  pioneers  in  opening  up  the  interior  of  Africa  and 
of  Siberia,  and  it  is  just  this  information  which  they  will 
never  get  in  Great  Britain  or  on  the  continent,  for  in  those 


146  AMERICAN   KAILWAY   MANAGEMEl^T. 

countries  they  have  but  one  way  of  doing  anything  in 
railroad  practice.  There  is  but  one  pattern  and  all  kinds 
of  cloth  must  be  cut  to  suit  it.  They  have  loaded  down 
their  secondary  railroad  systems  with  expensive  structures 
and  interlocked  switches  and  the  attendant  host  of  em- 
ployees^ so  that  even  at  home  there  still  remain  con- 
siderable communities  without  sufficient  railroad  facilities, 
because  they  cannot  be  operated  with  profit  as  constructed 
in  their  way  ;  yet  we  have,  perhaps,  thousands  of  miles 
of  track  paying  expenses  on  less  traffic. 

It  is  not  our  first-class  roads,  our  trunk  lines,  that  the 
projectors  in  those  untried  fields  can  study  to  advantage. 
These  roads  approximate  in  cost  of  construction  and  man- 
agement to  those  with  which  these  projectors  are  already 
familiar.  It  is  the  cheap  road,  the  cheap  methods  of 
operation  that  their  interests  require  and  of  which  they 
are  ignorant.  They  look  upon  a  single-track  road  operated 
on  American  methods  simply  as  a  death  trap  ;  something 
that  is  only  operated  at  the  peril  of  both  passengers  and 
employees.  When  the  American  delegates  spoke,  at  the 
London  Congress,  of  handling  fifty  or  one  hundred  trains 
a  day  and  thirty  or  forty  thousand  cars  a  month  over  a 
single  track,  the  statements  were  evidently  received  as 
specimens  of  American  brag. 

Now,  what  opportunity  is  there  for  American  methods 
and  appliances  getting  even  a  foot-hold  in  lands  where 
European  influences  prevail  ?  Evidently  but  little,  so 
long  as  European  ignorance  prevails  as  to  American 
methods  and  appliances,  and  it  is  just  here  that  the  value 
of  the  American  Railway  Association  comes  in  ;  that  is, 
in  pointing  out  the  way  for  penetrating  this  ignorance, 
for  dispersing  the  clouds  of  prejudice  and  the  fog  of  in- 
difference which  obscure  the  minds  of  those  European 
engineers  that  control  the  purse-strings  of  the  European 
capitalists  who  are  to  provide  the  means  for  constructing 
the  untold  thousands  and  ten  of  thousands  of  miles  of 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".      147 

railroad  yet  to  be  built  in  Asia  and  Africa  and  elsewhere, 
outside  of  the  present  limits  of  American  influence. 

Our  experience  at  the  meeting  of  the  International  Rail- 
way Congress  in  London  has  impressed  upon  our  minds 
the  hopelessness  of  any  attempt  to  remove  European  ig- 
norance and  prejudice  as  to  American  railway  practice 
by  discussions  held  across  the  ocean.  We  cannot  teach  by 
precept.  We  must  teach  by  example.  Instead  of  ad- 
dressing the  seven  or  eight  hundred  railway  engineers  and 
managers  that  make  up  the  International  Congress,  in  a 
land  where  there  is  not  one  example  of  American  railway 
practice,  let  us  induce  that  great  body  of  men,  foremost 
in  railway  reputation  and  experience  throughout  the 
world,  to  come  and  listen  to  us  here,  where  every  word 
that  we  speak  will  be  multiplied  in  effect  one  tliousand 
fold  by  what  they  will  find  all  around  them. 

It  is  a  case  in  which  a  great  result  is  to  be  sought,  one 
of  momentous  importance  to  the  future  welfare  of  our 
people,  and  the  effort  to  accomplish  this  result  must  be 
correspondingly  great.  Desultory,  isolated  attempts  will 
fail.  Our  energies  must  be  concentrated  to  be  effective, 
and  the  most  effective  way  to  concentrate  them  can  only 
be  afforded  by  the  American  Eailway  Association. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  International  Eailway  Con- 
gress is  to  be  four  years  hence  in  Paris,  at  the  time  of  the 
Exposition,  and  from  what  I  learned  unofRcially  at  the 
London  meeting,  I  believe  that  if  a  proper  effort  be  made 
on  that  occasion,  the  succeeding  meeting  can  be  held  in 
the  United  States  ;  but  if  such  an  effort  is  to  be  made, 
then  no  time  should  be  lost  in  preparing  to  make  it,  for 
there  is  much  to  be  done  if  we  are  to  offer  such  hos- 
pitality as  was  accorded  to  the  Congress  last  year  in  Great 
Britain,  and -we  should  not  offer  less  to  those  whom  we 
invite  across  the  ocean  to  visit  us. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  could  have  selected  any  subject 
for  my  address,  on  this  the  last  occasion  on  which  T  shall 
have  the  honor  to  appear  before  you  as  your  president, 


148  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

that  could  more  fitly  emphasize  the  termination  of  my 
nine  years  of  service  in  that  office.  I  say  this  because  I 
appreciate  the  honor  which  you  bestowed  upon  me  when, 
in  my  absence  and  without  my  knowledge,  you  selected 
me  as  your  principal  representative  at  the  meeting  to 
which  I  have  just  referred,  and  where  my  eyes  were 
opened  to  the  enormous  possibilities  that  I  have  just  un- 
folded to  you.  I  mention  this  only  as  the  chief  one 
among  the  many  signal  testimonies  that  I  have  received 
at  your  hands  during  my  long  term  of  office,  of  your  con- 
tinuing appreciation  of  my  devotion  to  the  great  cause 
which  you  represent,  and  I  shall  always  feel  that  in  this 
one  instance  alone  I  have  been  fully  rewarded  for  all  my 
efforts  in  your  behalf. 

And  now  that  I  am  about  to  say  farewell,  permit  me 
to  direct  your  minds  for  a  moment  to  the  principle  which, 
in  my  opinion,  should  ever  be  the  touch-stone  to  be  ap- 
plied to  any  subject  that  may  be  presented  for  your  con- 
sideration. 

The  object  for  which  you  are  organized  is  distinctly 
stated  in  your  rules  of  order  as  "the  development  and 
solution  of  problems  connected  with  railroad  manage- 
ment in  the  mutual  interest  of  the  railroad  companies 
of  America."  Your  action  is  only  "recommendatory 
in  its  character/'  and  "  not  binding  upon  any  of  the  com- 
panies represented."  So  long  as  these  cardinal  points 
in  your  rules  of  order  are  carefully  observed,  your  deliber- 
ations and  conclusions  will  be  of  increasing  value  to  the 
railroad  companies  constituting  the  members  of  this  As- 
sociation. 

But  it  will  be  an  evil  day  when  they  are  ignored,  when 
the  "  mutual  interest  of  the  railroad  companies  of  Amer- 
ica "  shall  be  disregarded,  or  when  the  action  of  this  body 
shall  be  considered  as  anything  more  than  "  recommenda- 
tory in  its  character." 

Your  proceedings  have  heretofore  been  harmonious  in 
their  results.     However  earnest  your   discussions,   how- 


ADDRESSES,  AMERICAIsr   RAILWAY  ASSOCIATION".      149 

ever  decided  your  opinions,  you  have  all  sought  the  same 
end  ;  honestly  to  work  out  the  problems  before  you,  in 
the  mutual  interest  of  those  whom  you  represent,  and  so 
it  may  be  expected  to  continue,  so  long  as  you  discuss 
nothing  but  practical  matters,  so  long  as  you  strictly  keep 
away  from  matters  involving  questions  of  revenue  to  your 
members.  You  are  not  votaries  of  Mammon.  You  seek 
the  truth  with  reference  to  questions  alfecting  the  main- 
tenance and  operation  of  the  great  railroad  system  of  this 
country  ;  its  practical  management  has  been  intrusted  to 
you,  and  while  you  continue  to  be  guided  by  the  principles 
which  constitute  the  foundation  of  your  Association,  your 
feet  will  be  in  the  right  path,  and  the  structure  which  you 
have  been  building  up  for  the  past  ten  years  will  maintain 
its  stability  and  increase  in  usefulness. 

But,  however  careful  you  should  be  to  remember  that 
the  action  of  this  Association  is  only  recommendatory 
in  its  character,  do  not  be  unmindful  of  what  that  action 
represents.  It  represents  the  convictions  of  the  foremost 
railroad  officials  of  this  country,  as  to  the  best  methods  of 
American  railway  practice  ;  convictions  reached  with  such 
opportunities  for  gathering  information  as  no  single  one 
of  you  possesses,  and  reached,  too,  after  the  careful  de- 
liberation of  your  standing  committees,  selected  by  your- 
selves as  the  most  competent  among  you  to  apply  their 
large  experience  to  the  solution  of  the  problems  submitted 
to  them  for  determination.  After  the  solutions  thus 
reached  have  been  laid  before  this  body,  composed,  as  it 
is,  of  those  who  are  confessedly  the  ablest  and  foremost 
in  the  land  in  their  own  profession,  and  the  seal  of  appro- 
bation is  here  stamped  upon  the  conclusions  of  one  of  your 
standing  committees,  who  is  there  so  great  in  himself  that 
will  undertake  to  deny  that  the  solution  of  any  of  the 
problems  of  railway  management  thus  obtained  is  not  in 
accordance  with  the  best  practice  and  is  not  in  the  mutual 
interest  of  the  railroad  companies  of  America,  after  it  has 
been  approved  by  the  American  Er.ilway  Association  ? 


OTHER  ADDRESSES,  ETC., 


ON 


RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 


151 


OTHER    ADDRESSES,    ETC.,    ON    RAIL- 
WAY  MANAGEMENT. 

EFFICIENT  EAILROAD  MANAGEMENT  :  ADVAN- 
TAGES OF  AN  ADVISORY  BOARD  TO  THE  GEN- 
ERAL MANAGER. 

(Originally  contributed  to  the  Hailway  Review,  October,  1884.) 

The  tendency  to  consolidate  independent  railroads  into 
homogeneous  systems  seems  irresistible,  especially  in  the 
United  States.  Separate  corporations  have  been  united 
only  to  be  merged  into  greater  combinations,  and  these  in 
their  turn  have  become  members  of  mighty  systems  whose 
mileage  is  stated  in  thousands.  In  spite  of  physical  bar- 
riers, of  local  prejudices  and  of  legislative  obstructions, 
they  are  gradually  drawn  together  by  an  influence  almost 
as  powerful  and  as  pervasive  as  the  universal  law  of  gravi- 
tation. Under  all  forms  of  government,  under  despotic 
czar  or  constitutional  monarch  or  popular  sovereignty, 
this  influence  is  everywhere  at  work  ;  everywhere  a  potent 
factor  in  the  reorganization  of  militant  into  industrial 
communities.  Its  effect  upon  the  welfare  of  society  is  far 
from  being  understood  ;  it  has  as  yet  been  scarcely  the 
subject  of  comment.  Yet  it  furnishes  matter  for  serious 
reflection  to  the  statesman,  to  the  political  economist  and 
to  the  sociologist. 

Among  the  many  aspects  in  which  this  subject  may  be 
considered  there  are  several  which  are  of  especial  interest 
to  stockholders  and  to  managers  ;  none  more  so  than  that 
of  the  efficient  management  of  the  gigantic  organizations 
which  have  been  thus  formed,  and  which  it  is  the  purpose 
of  this  article  to  discuss. 

The  analogy  already  remarked  between  the  tendency  to 
consolidation  and  the  mysterious  influence  of  gravity  may 
be  still  further  drawn  upon  in  considering  the  direction 

153 


154  AMERICAN  RAILWAY   MAKAGEMENT. 

in  which  the  management  of  great  railroad  systems  may 
be  expected  to  develop.  The  same  forces,  centripetal  and 
centrifugal,  are  present  as  in  the  solar  system.  If  they 
could  be  as  equally  balanced,  the  same  perfection  might  be 
attained.  But  this  is  not  to  be  expected  of  the  works  of 
man — and  this  particular  work  of  his  has  attained  as  yet 
but  a  moderate  degree  of  excellence.  In  its  present  state 
of  development  the  centripetal  force  is  in  excess,  and  the 
tendency  is  strong  towards  a  centralized  management.  In 
turning  from  the  works  of  nature  to  those  of  mankind  we 
enter  the  domain  of  human  government  as  well  as  of 
Divine  law.  We  here  find  the  centripetal  force  repre- 
sented by  despotism  and  the  centrifugal  force  by  anarchy, 
where  either  is  in  excess.  A  despotic  form  of  govern■^ 
ment  is  really  efficient  only  within  a  restricted  area  and\ 
over  a  small  number  of  persons.  It  is  limited  by  the  ca-  I 
pacity  of  the  individual  despot.  Of  unquestioned  virtue  I 
in  the  family  as  parental  authority  and  the  only  practicable  / 
form  of  government  among  errant  tribes  of  Arabs  and/ 
Tartars  where  the  despot  rules  as  patriarch,  its  usefulness 
diminishes  as  the  extent  of  its  jurisdiction  increases. 
When  millions  of  men  occupying  a  vast  territory  are 
brought  under  autocratic  sway  it  confesses  its  inefficiency 
to  govern  by  lapsing  into  rank  tyranny.  In  fact  under 
such  rule  the  tyrant  does  not  govern  ;  it  is  the  favorite 
who  governs  and  not  the  ostensible  ruler. 

After  many  bitter  conflicts  with  despotic  power,  after 
many  experimental  failures,  the  more  enlightened  nation^ 
are  learning  how  to  govern  efficiently.  They  are  learn- 
ing that  one  man  can  do  but  so  much  work  in  a  given 
time  ;  that  instead  of  eking  out  the  individual  capacity- 
mental  and  physical— of  the  responsible  governor,  by  re- 
sorting to  the  aid  of  irresponsible  favorites,  greater 
^efficiency  is  obtained  by  delegating  some  part  of  his  work 
4  to  legally  authorized  assistants.  In  a  word,  the  individual 
despot  is  replaced  by  an  organized  government,  and  that 
which  was  inefficiently  done  by  one  is  efficiently  donejby^ 

*    / 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  155 

several.  The  degree  of  efficiency  depends  mainly  upon 
the  excellence  of  the  organization. 

It  is  no  part  of  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  follow  this 
particular  line  of  thought  any  further  than  may  be  neces- 
sary to  illustrate  or  enforce  the  principles  involved  in  an 
efficient  method  of  railroad  management.  The  vast 
systems  which  have  resulted  from  progressive  aggregation 
have  outgrown  the  possibility  of  autocratic  control.  A 
division  of  duties,  of  responsibility  and  of  authority  has  of 
necessity  been  accomplished,  and  out  of  this  division  has 
grown  a  method  of  management  which  may  well  be  com- 
pared to  an  organized  form  of  government. 

As  the  government  of  nations  had  its  origin  in  the 
patriarchal  rule,  so  has  it  been  with  the  management  of 
railroads.  There  are  those  among  us  whose  nlemory  goes 
back  to  the  patriarchal  stage  of  management,  when  most 
corporations  owned  not  more  than  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles 
of  track  ;  when  the  president  was  the  sole  and  direct  con- 
trolling spirit ;  when  the  treasurer  sold  tickets  at  the 
principal  passenger  station  on  the  road  and  the  freight 
agent  at  the  same  station  was  virtually  the  head  of  the 
transportation  department ;  when  no  bill  was  paid  except 
upon  the  order  of  the  president,  and  periodical  reports 
and  statistical  statements  were  unknown.  Some  of  us 
remember  when  current  gossip  pointed  out  the  irresponsi- 
ble adviser  whose  favor  was  desired  when  appointments 
were  sought ;  when  promotion  was  capriciously  bestowed, 
and  dismissals  resulted  from  a  fit  of  passion. 

The  experience  of  half  a  century  has  developed  a  form 
"^  of  organization  which  has  been  generally  accepted  as  the 
pattern  of  efficient  management.  It  is  based  upon  a 
recognition  of  the  several  purposes  which  the  organization 
is  expected  to  fulfill.  There  is,  first,  the  road  which  forms 
the  line  of  communication,  whose  maintenance  is  in  charge 
of  the  roadway  department.  Then  there  is  the  movement 
of  the  vehicles  in  which  freight  and  passengers  are  car- 
led,  which  service  is  performed  by  the  transportation  de- 


156  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

partment,  and  the  maintenance  of  these  vehicles  by  the 
car  department  and  of  the  motors  by  the  locomotive  de- 
partment ;  or,  these  two  departments  may  be  operated 
jointly  as  the  machinery  department.  There  are  the  some- 
what complex  duties  involved  in  soliciting  and  handling 
the  business  of  the  traffic  department,  which  may  be  di- 
vided betwen  the  general  freight  agency  and  the  general 
passenger  agency.  These  are  the  principal  operating  de- 
partments, but  the  organization  must  also  include  a  fiscal 
agency  under  the  treasurer,  a  department  of  audit  and 
statistics,  a  purchasing  agency  and  perhaps  a  technical 
bureau  and  a  legal  department.  With  a  general  superin- 
tendent or  a  general  manager,  assisted  by  division  superin- 
tendents and  agents,  the  plan  here  given  is  the  recognized 
type  of  a  liiodern  railroad  organization,  apart  from  what 
belongs  to  it  as  a  legal  corporation.  Admitting  that  cir- 
cumstances have  made  it  what  it  is,  and  that  it  is  there- 
fore best  suited  to  the  conditions  under  which  the  work 
is  to  be  performed,  the  question  is  how  to  get  the  most  ef- 
ficient service  out  of  it.  The  tendency  is  toward  the  con- 
centration of  authority  in  one  man  ;  the  effort  is  a  sort  of 
congestion  at  the  periphery  of  which  he  is  the  center. 
Everything  in  the  direction  of  progress  and  reform  must 
be  initiated  by  the  head  of  the  management.  The  motion 
in  that  direction  is  not  uniform  :  it  is  spasmodic.  Men 
ordinarily  move  in  grooves — in  the  line  of  least  resistance. 
Perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  they  do.  Those  who  have  to 
manage  them  have  only  to  prepare  the  grooves  and  they 
can  then  know  where  to  find  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  move 
in  them.  But  there  may  be  too  much  of  this.  It  is  not 
well  for  all  but  one  man  in  an  organization  to  be  kept  in 
grooves  ;  it  is  not  well  for  the  heads  of  departments  to  be 
confined  to  registering  and  executing  the  edicts  of  the 
responsible  manager  of  the  railroad  property.  If  this 
course  be  pursued,  then  the  official  head  will  be  taxed  be- 
yond his  individual  capacity  and  the  machine  will  not  be  at 
its  maximum  state  of  efficiency.     It  is  this  reservation  by 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  157 

the  central  head  of  all  power  to  originate  changes,  which  is 
to  be  guarded  against  in  the  organization  of  great  railroad 
systems.  Its  disadvantages  are  shown  in  the  efforts  to 
attain  uniformity  in  non-essential  matters  ;  in  establishing 
rigid  standards  where  progressive  improvement  is  possible, 
where  the  approximately  accurate  adaptation  of  ends  to 
means  has  not  been  reached.  The  more  this  tendency  to 
uniformity  and  centralization  is  encouraged,  the  less  will 
be  the  desire  for  change,  the  smaller  the  opportunity  for 
progress  and  reform,  and  our  railroad  system  will  gradu- 
ally approach  a  condition  of  fixedness  ;  a  sort  of  mental 
petrifaction  akin  to  Chinese  forms  of  thought  and  far 
removed  from  that  ready,  inventive  turn  of  mind,  full  of 
resources,  self-reliant  and  quick  to  appreciate  a  better  way 
of  doing  things  which  we  are  pleased  to  appropriate  to 
ourselves  and  to  call  "  truly  American." 

If  this  centralized  despotic  type  of  railroad  organization 
— the  Chinese  type,  so  to  speak — is  to  be  guarded  against, 
that  which  should  be  preferred  is  right  before  us,  and  is 
indeed  "truly  American."  It  is  the  federal  type  of  or- 
ganization. It  grows  out  of  considering  the  entire  system 
not  as  a  uniform  mass,  but  as  a  congeries  of  smaller  bodies, 
each  moving  in  its  peculiar  orbit,  but  co-ordinated  to  one 
common  end  by  a  central  force — in  short,  a  solar  system. 

Under  such  a  plan  of  organization,  the  officials  in  each 
subdivision  should  be  free  to  manage  their  local  affairs  to 
suit  themselves  :  they  should  only  be  constrained  for  the 
general  good.  Uniformity,  so  far  from  being  encouraged 
should  be  discouraged,  save  when  essential  to  economy 
and  to  a  better  service  for  the  public.  Each  sub-organiza- 
tion, if  left  to  itself,  w^ll  work  out  improvements  and  sug- 
gest ideas  that  may  be  assimilated  by  the  central  author- 
ity for  the  general  good,  and  instead  of  one  man  trying  to 
do  the  thinking  for  all  in  matters  of  detail,  he  may  be 
assisted  by  the  mental  efforts  of  all  in  everything  save  that 
in  which  he  alone  can  do  the  thinkinsr. 

The  principal  part  which  the  head  of  a  great  system 


158  AMERICAN   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

should  retain  for  himself  is  not  the  originating  of  ideas 
nor  the  institution  of  reforms,  but  the  co-ordination  of  the 
efforts  of  those  who  are  responsible  to  him,  so  that  '^  all 
may  be  parts  of  one  resplendent  whole."  There  is  noth- 
ing original  in  these  suggestions.  They  have  occurred  to 
all  who  have  had  experience  in  organizing  bodies  of  men  : 
they  are  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  recognized  in  the  man- 
agement of  our  principal  railroad  systems,  and  the  greater 
the  extent  the  better  the  result.  They  have  been  espe- 
cially recognized  in  the  management  with  which  I  am  con- 
nected, and  the  experiments  which  we  have  been  led  to 
make  in  thus  recognizing  them  have  been  so  interesting 
to  me  as  to  induce  me  to  consent  to  become  a  contributor 
to  the  series  of  articles  for  publication  in  the  Eailway  Re- 
view. As  the  experiment  w^as  in  a  great  measure  a  per- 
sonal one  on  my  part,  and  as  I  propose  to  state  with  some 
particularity  its  origin  and  development,  my  statements 
must  of  necessity  assume  a  personal  form. 

Beginning  in  1879  with  the  organization  of  the  Savan- 
nah, Florida  &  Western  Railway  Company,  which  suc- 
ceeded the  Atlantic  &  Gulf  Railroad  Company,  there  have 
from  time  to  time  been  brought  together  under  one  gen- 
eral ownership  and  control  a  number  of  railroad  corpora- 
tions in  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Florida,  and  in  con- 
nection with  them  several  steamboat  lines — aggregating  at 
present  about  800  miles  of  road  and  600  miles  of  steam- 
iDoat  lines — which,  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  H.  B.  Plant 
is  the  principal  stockholder  and  the  president  of  the  more 
important  corporations,  is  locally  known  as  the  "  Plant 
system."  This  system  is  somewhat  anomalous  in  its  for- 
mation. It  includes  roads  which  have  existed  for  20  years 
and  more,  long  enough  to  have  been  worn  out ;  wrecks 
that  were  to  be  reconstructed  physically  and  financially  ; 
as  also  lines  projected  in  South  Florida,  into  an  almost 
unknown  region,  to  be  constructed  under  circumstances 
closely  resembling  the  extension  of  lines  into  the  western 
prairies.     It  includes  corporations  in  three  states,  operated 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  159 

under  different  laws,  owning  roads  of  different  gauges  and 
with  stockholders  not  interested  alike  in  all  of  them. 
Under  these  conditions  it  was  not  practicable  to  bring 
them  all  into  uniformity,  and,  as  a  rule,  it  has  not  been 
attempted.  What  has  been  done  toward  operating  them 
in  a  common  interest  has  grown  out  of  an  experiment  in 
the  management  of  the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Rail- 
way with  a  different  object  in  view. 

That  corporation  is  the  prime  factor  in  the  "  Plant 
system.^'  Its  practical  management  has  been  substan- 
tially continuous  for  18  years.  Many  of  its  officials  and 
employees  have  grown  from  youth  to  manhood  in  its 
service  and  are  distinguished  for  their  zeal  and  intelligence. 
It  owns  over  500  miles  of  road  with  extensive  terminal 
facilities,  including  docks  for  the  interchange  of  traffic 
both  with  seagoing  vessels  and  with  river  craft,  and  offers 
an  appropriate  field  for  observation  and  experiment. 

During  a  period  in  which  the  attention  of  all  concerned 
was  absorbed  in  making  provision  for  a  rapidly  growing 
business,  we  were  more  intent  on  getting  the  work  done 
than  in  finding  out  the  cheapest  way  to  do  it,  until  we 
began  to  see  that  we  were  spending  too  much  money,  and 
our  thoughts  were  turned  upon  retrenchment. 

In  an  average  monthly  expenditure  of  $150,000  it  is 
not  an  easy  matter  to  determine  just  where  to  economize 
without  injury  to  the  service.  It  requires  a  minute 
analysis  of  the  expenditures  and  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  detailed  operations  of  the  road.  Even  with  this 
information  at  hand,  the  responsible  managers  of  the 
property  found  their  time  so  much  occupied  with  other 
matters  as  to  have  but  little  of  it  left  to  devote  to  the 
consideration  of  expenses.  Their  efforts  amounted  to  a 
monthly  "  scold  "  when  the  expense  accounts  were  made 
up.  This  of  course  was  unsatisfactory.  It  was  still  more 
unsatisfactory  to  feel  that  the  ordering  of  these  expenses 
was  not  under  efficient  control.     In  theory  no  expense 


160  AMERICAN   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

could  be  incurred  without  the  approval  of  the  superin- 
tendent ;  in  practice  that  official  hurriedly  approved 
hundreds  of  vouchers  without  having  time  to  examine 
them.  Indeed,  he  could  not  be  absent  from  his  office  a 
day  or  two  without  leaving  a  number  of  vouchers  approved 
in  blank  to  be  tilled  out  in  payment  of  accounts  which 
could  not  be  delayed  until  his  return.  In  this,  as  in  other 
affairs,  what  looks  well  in  principle  may  turn  out  other- 
wise in  its  application. 

As  already  stated,  this  method  of  managing  the  ex- 
penditures was  unsatisfactory,  not  only  because  the  re- 
trenchment was  sometimes  injudiciously  applied,  but  also 
because  the  spending  of  the  money  had  got  beyond  the 
control  of  those  who  were  responsible  for  it.  In  consider- 
ing this  matter  it  was  evident  that  the  retrenchment  had 

*^  to  begin  before  the  money  was  spent,  and  that  the  men 
who  really  spent  it  must  be  held  responsible  for  the  way 
in  which  it  was  spent.  It  seemed  absurd  that  the  osten- 
sible examination  and  approval  of  the  accounts  should  be 
expected  of  the  superintendent,  whose  time  was  otherwise 
fully  occupied.  An  officer  was  therefore  appointed,  styled 
the  comptroller,  who  was  charged  with  these  and  with 
other  duties.  It  was  then  determined  that  whoever  was 
authorized  to  incur  any  expense  should  be  required  to 

^  certify  to  the  correctness  of  the  account  before  it  went  to 
the  comptroller  for  approval.  In  this  way  the  absurdity 
in  preparing  expense  accounts  for  payment  was  gotten  rid 
of,  and  an  order  was  issued  in  the  following  terms  : 

I.  All  accounts  will  be  audited  under  the  supervision  of  an  oflScer 
to  be  entitled  the  comptroller. 

II.  The  auditors  of  earnings  and  expenses  will  report  to  the 
comptroller. 

III.  Expense  accounts  will  be  audited  as  follows  : 

1.  Accounts  for  materials  and  supplies  will  be  certified  to  by  the 
purchasins:  agent  as  to  prices  and  quantity. 

2.  Pay-rolls  and  other  accounts  that  do  not  pass  through  the 
purchasing  agent's  office  will  be  certified  to  by  the  general  manager, 
superintendent,  or  head  of  the  department  in  which  the  expense  was 
incurred. 


MISCELLAl^EOIJS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  161 

IV.  All  expense  vouchers  must  be  approved  by  the  comptroller 
before  payment. 

V.  The  comptroller  will  prepare  the  reports  relating  to  the  earn- 
ings and  expenses  of  the  company,  and  of  its  leased  or  operated  lines, 
and  compile  such  statistical  information  as  may  be  required. 

VI.  Heads  of  departments  and  other  officers  and  agents  of  the 
company  will  make  such  reports  and  furnish  such  information  to  the 
comptroller  as  he  may  require. 

We  had  now  put  the  saddle  on  the  right  horse,  so  far 
as  to  fix  the  responsibility  for  making  an  account  and  to 
provide  for  its  proper  examination  and  audit,  but  we  had 
yet  to  put  the  bridle  into  the  right  hands.  In  doing  this 
we  resorted  to  the  experience  of  others  to  whom  had  been 
delegated  the  control  of  large  expenditures  under  some- 
what similar  conditions.  We  found  that  under  organized 
governments  the  officials  who  had  to  account  for  the  dis- 
position they  had  made  of  the  nation's  revenues  did  so  by 
the  aid  of  a  budget — that  is,  they  started  the  year  with  a 
detailed  estimate  of  what  they  intended  to  spend  in  each 
department,  and  then  kept  to  this  line  as  near  as  circum- 
stances would  permit. 

So  we  established  a  "  budget."  We  called  on  the  chief 
of  each  department  to  state  in  detail  under  specific  heads, 
how  much  he  would  require  to  operate  his  department  for 
the  year.  We  added  these  estimates  together,  found  the 
annual  expense  arrived  at  in  this  way  to  be  greater  than 
seemed  to  us  judicious,  called  a  conference  of  all  in  interest, 
discussed  the  various  items  and  got  the  total  estimated 
annual  expense  down  as  low  as  was  thought  to  be  prac- 
ticable, if  we  were  to  have  efficient  service.  The  detailed 
estimate  in  each  department  was  then  divided  into  12  equal 
monthly  parts,  and  the  head  of  each  department  was 
charged  with  the  control  of  the  expenditure  appertaining 
thereto. 

The  comptroller  was  then  instructed  to  prepare  a 
monthly  statement  in  which  the  expenses  actually  incurred 
in  each  department  were  compared  in  detail  with  the  es- 
timates.    These  monthly  statements  were  presented  at  a 


162 


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MISCELLAKEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  165 

meeting  of  the  heads  of  the  departments  presided  over  by 
the  general  manager  with  the  superintendent  as  vice  presi- 
dent. At  these  meetings  each  departmental  head,  in  turn, 
went  over  the  comparative  statement  of  the  expenses  for 
which  he  was  responsible,  principally  to  explain  why  he 
had  exceeded  the  amount  he  had  estimated  for  any  par- 
ticular item.  In  making  these  explanations,  it  was  found 
advisable  to  have  the  treasurer,  the  comptroller,  the  pur- 
chasing agent  and  the  auditor  of  expenses  present,  and  to 
keep  minutes  of  the  proceedings. 

As  a  stimulus  to  these  exercises  and  to  make  the  respon- 
sible officials  feel  personally  interested  in  the  results,  it  was 
understood  that  each  of  them  who  kept  within  his  annual 
estimate  should  receive  a  certain  increase  of  salary,  and 
that  if  the  company  earned  a  dividend  of  7  per  cent,  on  the 
year's  business  they  should  all  receive  an  additional 
amount  whether  the  estimates  were  exceeded  or  not. 

This  experiment  went  into  effect  in  the  year  1881,  and 
after  another  year's  experience  we  were  so  well  satisfied 
with  it  that  we  tried  the  same  plan  on  the  Charleston  & 
Savannah  Eailway,  a  road  which  connects  at  Savannah 
with  the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Eailway.  To 
arouse  still  further  the  spirit  of  emulation  the  monthly 
statements  of  expenses  of  both  roads  were  reported  at  a 
meeting  where  the  officials  of  both  were  together  as- 
sembled, and  each  member  present  was  permitted  to  ask 
any  questions  concerning  the  details  there  submitted  and 
explained.  Little  by  little,  other  matters  connected  with 
the  operations  of  the  two  roads  were  talked  about  and  dis- 
cussed at  these  meetings  in  an  informal  way  until  it  oc- 
curred to  the  two  superintendents  and  the  general  man- 
ager that  here  was  offered  an  opportunity  for  obtaining 
assistance  in  matters  outside  of  expenditures,  and  we  at 
length  formally  organized  what  is  now  known  among  us 
as  the  advisory  board  to  the  general  manager. 

Before  describing  the  organization  and  proceedings  of 


166  AMERICAK    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

this  advisory  board,  I  would  refer  to  the  budget  for  1884, 
for  the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Railway.  (See 
Statement  '^A.") 

The  amounts  appropriated  respectively  for  the  several 
departments  were  as  follows  : 

For  administrative  department $169,680.00 

"roadway                    "         393,928.80 

"locomotive                "          848,156.00 

"   car                             "          240,096.00 

"transportation           "          243,564  00 

"   freight  and  passenger  department 308,138.28 

Total $1,703,563.08 

To  this  amount  was  added  the  cost  of  1,650  tons  steel 
rails  and  fastenings,  being  the  allowance  for  annual  re- 
newals, whatever  the  cost  might  be.  As  already  stated, 
the  detailed  estimate  in  each  department  was  divided  into 
12  equal  monthly  parts,  as  shown  in  "  Statement  A,"  for 
the  purpose  of  frequent  comparison  with  the  actual  ex- 
penditures. 

The  cost  of  annual  rail  renewals  (1,650  tons)  and  of  the 
accompanying  fastenings  is  not  included  in  the  subdivided 
estimates.  The  distribution  of  some  of  the  items  is  not  in 
accordance  with  general  practice,  but  there  are  good 
reasons  for  this  divergence,  growing  out  of  the  necessity 
for  classifying  such  items  in  each  department  as  were  con- 
trolled by  its  responsible  head. 

In  these  estimates  some  of  the  items  could  be  estimated 
with  approximate  accuracy  ;  others  were  based  upon  the 
experience  of  previous  years.  The  expenditures  in  some 
of  the  subdivisions  vary  considerably  in  different  months, 
but  this  was  kept  in  view  by  carrying  forward  from  month 
to  month  the  aggregate  sum  of  the  estimated  and  of  the 
actual  expenditures  as  each  monthly  comparison  was  made. 

The  comparison  for  the  month  of  May,  1884,  was  as 
follows  : 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDBESSES,  ETC. 


167 


Department. 


Administrative. . 

Roadway 

Locomotive  . . . . 
Car 

Transportation . . 
Freight  and  pass 

Total 


Expenditures. 

Over. 

Estimated. 

Actual. 

$14,140 
32,827 
29,013 
20,008 
20,297 
25,678 

$12,173 
28,612 
25,226 
19,635 
19,022 
25,502 



$141,963 

$130,170 

Under. 


$1,967 

4.215 

3,787 

373 

1,275 

176 

$11,793 


The  result  for  the  five  months  ending  May  31,  1884, 
was  as  follows  : 


Department. 

Expenditures. 

Over. 

Under. 

Estimated. 

Actual. 

Administrative 

$70,700 
164,137 
145,065 
100,040 
101,485 
128,391 

$68,730 
155,373 
135,259 
99,247 
108,112 
137,491 

$1,970 

Roadway 

8,764 

Locomotive 

9,806 
793 

Car 

$6  "627' 
9,100 

Transportation 

Freight  and  pass 

Total 

$709,818 

$704,212 

$5,606 

The  manner  in  which  the  detailed  monthly  comparisons 
are  made  will  be  seen  from  the  comparison  for  May,  1884, 
given  in  "  Statement  B,^^  of  the  expenditures  of  the  freight 
and  passenger  department. 

The  benefits  derived  from  calling  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments into  council  with  the  responsible  management  to 
consider  matters  pertaining  to  expenditures,  led,  as  already 
mentioned,  to  a  still  further  expansion  of  the  idea,  by  the 
establishment  of  an  advisory  board  to  the  general  manager. 

The  organization  of  this  board  and  its  functions  are 
stated  in  its  constitution  and  by-laws  as  follows  : 


168  american  railway  management. 

Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Advisory  Board 
TO  THE  General  Manager  of  the  Savannah,  Flor- 
ida &  Western  and  Charleston  &  Savannah  Eail- 
ways. 

CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Section  1.  This  body  shall  be  knowD  as  the  Advisory  Board  to 
the  General  Manager. 

Sec.  2.  This  board  shall  consist  of  the  following  officials  of  the 
several  railway  Hues  under  the  Plant  system  : 

Superintendents. 

Assistant  superintendents. 

Chief  or  consulting  engineers. 

Comptrollers. 

Treasurers. 

Masters  of  roadway,  or  roadmasters. 

Masters  of  machinery. 

Masters  of  transportation. 

Genera]  freight  agents.  i 

General  ticket  or  passenger  agents. 

Purchasing  agents. 

Auditors. 

Assistant  general  counsel. 

article  n. 

The  purposes  in  establishing  this  board  are  to  secure  better  meth- 
ods in  railway  administration  ;  to  analyze  expenditures  and  to  locate 
the  responsibility  therefor  in  the  several  departments ;  to  give  the 
officials  in  the  system  a  knowledge  of  the  operations  of  the  various 
departments  for  their  more  perfect  information  and  understanding 
of  the  details  of  the  system  of  railway  manugemeut ;  to  enable  them 
from  such  knowledge  to  give  such  aid  and  assistance  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  line  as  is  sought  to  be  accomplished  by  this  association, 
and  to  a  more  perfect  working  of  their  own  departments. 

article  III. 

Of  this  board  the  general  manager  shall  be  president  **ex-officio," 
and  will  occupy  the  chair  at  meetings  when  he  thinks  proper  to 
do  so. 

article  IV. 

Any  action  had  by  this  board  in  matters  affecting  the  administra- 
tion of  the  affairs  of  the  railways  must  have  the  sanction  of  the 
general  manager  to  become  of  force  in  operation. 

article  v. 

This  constitution  can  be  altered  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  board, 
with  the  approval  of  the  general  manager. 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  169 

BY-LAWS. 

I.  There  shall  be  a  meetinc^,  ou  the  last  Friday  in  each  mbnth,  to 
be  called  by  the  president,  or  in  his  absence  by  the  chairman  last 
presiding. 

II.  Monthly  meetings  may  be  postponed  or  dispensed  with  by 
order  of  the  ])residcnt. 

III.  Special  meetings  may  be  called  when  deemed  advisable. 

IV.  The  superintendents  of  the  several  lines,  now  or  hereafter  con- 
nected Willi  this  system,  shall  be  vice-presidenls  of  this  board,  and 
will  preside  over  the  meetings,  in  rotation  when  the  chair  is  not 
occupied  by  the  president. 

V.  Tlie  president  shall  appoint  a  permanent  secretary,  in  whose 
absence  the  chair  will  appoint  a  secretary  pro  tern. 

VI.  Order  of  business. 

1st.  Reading  and  confirming  proceedings  of  the  previous  meeting. 

2d.  Presentation  of  reports  of  expenditures  in  the  several  depart- 
ments of  each  road  in  ihe  system,  in  the  folio  \ing  order  :  roadway, 
locomotive,  car,  transportation,  and  freight  and  passenger. 

3d.  Reports  of  standing  comrnittees. 

4th.  Reports  of  special  committees. 

5th.  New  business. 

VII.  For  each  road  there  shall  be  a  standing  committee  of  three, 
known  as  the  "  committee  on  distribution  of  accounts  " 

VIII.  These  comm  ttees  shall  be  composed  of  the  comptroller, 
treasurer  and  purchasing  agent,  or,  in  the  absence  of  any  of  the  above 
offices  on  any  road,  the  vacancy  may  be  supplied  by  the  superinten- 
dent in  charge. 

IX.  Heads  of  departments  will  refer  to  this  committee  their 
monthly  reports  of  expenditures,  with  such  explanations  as  they 
desire  to  make. 

X.  Reports  of  the  expenditures  in  the  several  departments  will  be 
submitted  by  the  chairman  of  the  standing  committee  for  each  road. 

XI.  All  questions  of  dispute  as  to  a  charge  shall  be  referred  to  this 
committee,  whose  action  shall  be  final,  unless  modified  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  board. 

XII.  Special  committees  will  be  appointed  by  the  chair  to  con- 
sider mutters  of  interest  to  the  board. 

XIII.  All  motions  before  the  meeting  must  be" made  in  writing. 

XIV.  New  subjects,  where  they  cannot  be  disposed  of,  will  be 
referred  to  committees  for  report. 

XV.  The  difference  between  the  accepted  estimate  and  actual  ex- 
penditures in  each  sub-division  of  accounts  shall  be  carried  forward 
by  the  respective  heads  of  departments  from  month  to  month  until 
the  end  of  the  year,  when  the  result  of  the  year's  operations  will 
appear. 

XVI.  Whenever  required  by  the  president  heads  of  departments 
shall  submit  estimates  of  expenses  for  their  several  departments  for 
such  period  in  advance  as  he  shall  desire. 

XVII.  These  by-laws  can  be  altered  by  a  majority  vote  of  the 
board  at  any  regular  meeting. 


170  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 


Amendments. 

1.  There  shall  be  regular  standing  committees  on  constitution  and 
by-laws,  administrative  department,  roadway  department,  machinery 
department,  transportation  department  and  freight  and  passage  de- 
partment, to  whom  shall  be  referred  monthly  all  matters  pertaining 
respectively  to  these  departments. 

2.  A  record  shall  be  kept  by  the  secretary  giving  in  numerical 
order  the  several  measures  passed  by  this  board.  As  each  measure 
shall  be  put  in  effect  by  a  general  order,  the  same  shall  be  made  a 
part  of  the  record. 

3.  Thirteen  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

4.  Roberts'  Rules  of  Order  are  adopted  as  authority. 

5.  Wiienever  the  report  of  a  committee  necessitates  the  publication 
of  an  order  to  carry  it  into  effect,  the  report  shall  be  in  the  form  of 
the  necessary  order.  "When  an  order  is  not  necessary,  the  adoption 
of  a  report  shall  be  suflQcient,  but  such  report  shall  be  approved  by 
the  president  of  the  board  and  duly  recorded  in  the  minutes ;  the 
secretary  shall  then  notify  the  parties  interested. 

The  operations  of  the  advisory  board  can  be  understood 
better  by  a  perusal  of  the  monthly  proceedings  than  in  any 
other  way.  I  have  therefore  included  the  minutes  of  the 
meeting  held  in  May,  1884  : 

Savannah,  Ga.,  May  30,  1884. 

Regular  meeting  of  advisory  board  to  general  manager,  called  to 
order  at  9.30  a.m.,  C.  S  Gadsden,  superintendent  Charleston  &  Sa- 
vannah Railway,  vice  president,  in  the  chair. 

Present  following  members  from  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western 
Railway : 

R.  G.  Fleming,  superintendent ;  F.  S.  Prendergast,  chief  engi- 
neer ;  W.  P.  Hardee,  treasurer ;  W.  B.  McKee,  comptroller ;  Geo. 
W.  Haines,  assistant  superintendent ;  H.  W.  Reed,  master  roadway; 
G.  M.  D.  Riley,  master  machinery  ;  O.  W.  Jackson,  master  trans- 
portation ;  J.  L.  Taylor,  general  freight  and  passenger  agent ;  H.  H. 
McKee,  auditor  expenses;  C.  T.  Morel,  auditor  earnings;  A.  A. 
Aveilhe,  purchasing  agent.  S.  T.  Kingsbery,  assistant  general 
counsel,  reported  at  10.25  a.m. 

And  from  the  Charleston  &  Savannah  Railway  : 

J.  Moultrie  Lee,  treasurer;  H.  A.  Ulmo,  master  machinery;  J. 
W.  Craig,  master  roadway  and  transportation  ;  S.  C.  Boylston,  gen- 
eral freight  and  passenger  agent;  E.  P.  McSwiney,  auditor  ex- 
penses. 

Minutes  of  previous  regular  meeting  and  of  the  special  meetings 
of  April  24  and  May  5  were  read  and  confirmed. 

Reports  of  expenditures  in  the  several  departments  of  the  Charles- 
ton &  Savannah  and  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Railways  were 
read  and  accepted. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  171 


REPORTS  OF   STANDING  COMMITTEES. 

Committee  on  By-Laws 

"  In  what  place,  iu  ilie  order  of  business,  should  unfinished  busi- 
ness be  considered." 

The  committee  respectfully  report  that  our  rules  of  order  provide 
for  this.  See  order  of  business  page  115,  Roberts'  Rules  of  Order. 
Adopted. 

Committee  on  Administrative  Department 

"Payment  of  wages  by  discharge  ticket."  Report  following 
order  :  *•  Discharge  tickets  will  be  paid  by  the  paymaster  upon  the 
■approval  of  the  head  of  department  issuing  the  ticket."     Adopted. 

"Preservation  of  records."  Presented  plans  and  estimate  for  a 
fire-proof  vault,  and  recommended  that  it  be  built  not  less  than  60 
feet  east  of  the  general  office  building  as  shown  in  diagram. 
Adopted. 

Committee  on  Roadway. 

"  Special  compensation  to  section  foremen,  etc."  The  report  pre- 
sented by  the  committee  at  previous  meeting  having  been  printed 
and  distributed  in  accordance  with  resolution  then  passed,  was  taken 
up  and  adopted  with  additional  report  that  the  cost  of  premiums  to 
each  company  will  be,  for  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Railway  : 

Annual  premiums |4o0 

Quarterly  premiums 900 

Total  per  annum $1350 

For  the  Charleston  &  Savannah  Railway : 

Annual  premiums ,  . . . , $170 

Quarterly  premiums 360 

Total  per  annum $530 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  "specification  for  trestle 
bridges;"  "standard  yard  switch;"  "fence  law;"  "location  of 
waterways." 

Committee  on  Machinery. 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  "drawing  standard  plan  for 
releasing  air  brakes;"  "adoption  of  Congdon  brake  shoe;"  "standard 
wheels  and  axles;  "  "standard  freight  cars;  "  " passenger  car  speci- 
fications—ventilation;" "plans  for  machine  shops;"  "locomotive 
specifications — driving-wheel  tires." 

"Locomotive  specifications — oil  feeders."  Presented  following 
report,  which  was  on  motion  received  as  information.  "  After  care- 
ful examination  of  construction  and  working  of  different  styles  of 
oil  feeders,  and  correspondence  in  relation  to  experience  of  leading 
railroads,  and  upon  our  own  experience,  they  recommended  that 
some  form  of  plunger  cup  be  used  and  preferably  the  '  Dreyfus  cup.' 
They  recommend  phosphor-bronze  bearings  instead  of  brass,  also  the 
abandoning  of  Babbitt  metal  in  the  bearings,  as  they  consider  that 


172  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMEKT. 

Babbitt  metal  is  liable,  with  very  litt'e  heat,  to  stop  up  the  feed  tube 
of  oil  cups.  They  recommend  the  solid-end  rod  iu  place  of  strap 
keys,  etc." 

"  Wages  of  mechanics."  Presented  a  tabular  report  of  wages  paid 
by  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western,  Charleston  &  Savauuah  Railways, 
South  Carolina  and  Central  Railroads,  which  was  received  as  infor- 
mation. 
Committee  on  Transpoitation. 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  "railroad  legislation — 
laws  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi  and  United  States  as  to  run- 
ning of  railway  trains  "  and  "  trains  breaking  loose — best  means  of 
prevention." 

Commit  ee  on  Freight  and  Passaye. 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  "  extent  to  which  com- 
mon carrier  is  protected  where  bill  of  lading  provides  that,  in  event 
of  loss  by  fire,  the  common  carrier  and  its  connections  shall  have  the 
benefit  of  any  insurance  the  shipper  may  have  effected  thereon"  and 
"  liability  of  railroad  companies  as  common  carriers;  '  "claim  agency 
as  a  bureau  of  tiie  geuernl  manager's  oflice,"  "general  agency  ex- 
penses" and  "transportation  of  high  explosives." 

The  committee  recommend:  1.  That  the  following  items  of  ex- 
pense of  general  agency  shall  be  borne  by  the  entire  system:  Sal- 
aries of  agents  and  clerks,  and  ottice  rent  and  expenses  at  Boston, 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore;  printing  and  stationery; 
advertising;  traveling  expenses.  2.  The  basis  of  division  shall  be» 
the  gross  earnings  of  each  member  of  the  system  for  the  previous 
year.  3  The  accounts  shall  be  rendered  monthly  by  the  comptrol- 
ler of  the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Railway.  4.  That  the 
South  Florida  Railroad  and  the  People's  Line  of  Steamers  shall  con- 
tribute on  same  basis  as  the  other  members  of  the  system.  Adopted, 
Committee  on  Distribution  of  Accounts 

"Division  of  salaries  of  agents  and  clerks  on  line  of  road  between 
freight  and  passenger  accounts."  Presented  report,  which,  on  mo- 
lion,  was  recommitted  for  a  more  distinct  and  full  report. 

REPORTS  OF  JOINT  COMMITTEES. 

Joint   Committee   on  Roadway,    Transportation,   and   Freight   and 
Passage. 

"Plan  for  standard  warehouse  for  small  stations."    Presented  a 
plan,  which  was  adopted. 
Joint  Committee  on  Roadway  and  Transportation. 

"Method  in  use  for  paying  and  provisioning  hands;  precautions 
taken  for  security  of  pay-roll  money  and  provisions  in  transit ;  order 
to  cover  same."  Presented  a  report,  which  was  rejected  on  the 
jidoptiou  of  a  minority  report  offered  by  Mr.  Reed  as  a  substitute, 
and  as  follows : 

"The  minority  of  your  committee  beg  leave  to  report  that  the 
present  system  of  paying  and  rationing  on  the  line  of  the  Savannah, 
Florida  &  Western  Railway  be  continued  iu  force  for  the  following 
reasons :  1.  The  present  system  of  paying  and  rationing  has  given 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  173 

perfect  satisfjictiou,  aad  it  is  doubtful  if  our  present  thorough 
organizatiou  could  be  maintained  if  the  system  were  change  1. 
2.  The  expenses  of  paying  and  rationing  by  any  other  method  than 
that  at  present  employed  would  not  be  the  means  of  reducing  the 
expenses  of  this  particular  service.  It  is  further  recommended  that 
the  pay  car,  its  armament,  and  the  safe  be  examined  and  pi  iced  in 
as  secure  and  perfect  a  condition  as  possible  by  the  purchasing  agent." 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  "Plans  and  estimates  for 
improvements  at  Southover  Junction." 

'•Plan  and  estimate  for  proposed  side  track  at  Southover  Junc- 
tion." Presented  plan  and  estimate,  which  was  adopted,  and  rec- 
ommend that  the  work  be  commenced  immediately. 

"Rules  to  govern  draw-bridge  tenders."     Your  committee   beg 
leave  to  report  that  such  an  order  is  already  prepared  in  our  new 
train  rules.     Received  as  information. 
Joint  Commit  ee  on  Machinery  and  Transporta  ion. 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  "Record  of  wheel  mile- 
age ; "  "standard  cab  car  ; "  "inspection  of  foi e  gn  cars  at  junction 
points  ;  "  "standard  style  of  fire-extinguisher." 

Joint  Committee  on  Transportation,  Roadioay,  and  Freight  and 
Passage, 

"Refrigerator  cars."  The  c  ramittee  beg  leave  to  nport  th.it  they 
find  the  weight  of  the  various  classes  of  refrigerator  cars,  when 
loaded  wltii  perishable  freight,  is  not  greater  than  the  standard  box 
cars  of  these  companies  when  loaded  to  their  utmost  capacity  ;  al-o 
tiiat  the  method  of  carrying  ice  in  the  upper  pa  t  of  tliese  cars  and 
the  usual  weight  of  such  c  .rs  has  not  rendered  them  unsafe  to  handle 
in  our  trains.  Oar  experience  proves  that  we  have  had  only  O'le 
accident  from  th's  cause  since  these  cars  commenced  running  on 
our  roads.  This  accident  happened  several  3''ears  ago  on  a  stringer 
track  on  the  Albany  division.  They  fully  indorse  the  report  of  the 
standing  c  immittee  on  freight  and  passasre  herewith,  as  made  at 
the  February  meeting,  viz. :  that  the  freight  department  be  instructed 
to  assess  the  weight  of  freig  t  loaded  into  refrigerator  cars  at  50  per 
cent  mor(;  th  n  the  actual  weight  of  the  articles  tliems'  Ives,  nnd  that 
charges  be  made  on  assessed  weights.  This  action  is  based  on  the 
additional  dead  weight  necessarily  carried — four  to  five  tons  in 
weiglit  of  car  and  three  tons  in  ice — and  upon  the  fact  that  these 
cars  are  almost  invariably  handled  empty  when  south  bound,  at  a 
cost  of  three  quarters  of  a  cent  per  mile  car  mileage,  and  are  very 
often  returned  north  bound  empty  at  a  similar  rate  of  car  mileage. 
The  committee  consider  the  trans;  ortation  of  perishable  articles  in 
refrigerator  cars  a  very  expensive  method  for  the  railroads  hauling 
S!im  ',  as  it  is  entirely  different  from  the  ordinary  manner  of  hand- 
ling similar  shipments  ;.  and  they  believe  the  additional  charges 
herein  recommended  for  this  extra  freight  service  are  just  and 
reaso'able  rates. 

By  Mr.  Boyleston  :  ''H' solved.  That  the  report  of  the  committee 
on  refiigerator  cars  be  referred  to  the  assis'ant  general  counsel  to 
frame  the  principles  therein  laid  down  in  co  iformity  to  law." 
Carried. 

I 


174  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMENT. 

Joint  Committee  on  Ti'ansportation,  Machinery,  and  Roadway. 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  "Trespassers  on  track; 
rule  to  protect  company." 

Joint  Commiliee  on  Transportation  and  Machinery. 

"Reduction  stock  of  car  wheels  "  The  committee  report:  There 
are  in  use  on  the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Railway — 

No.  1  passenger  axle  with  iournal  3|x8^,  collarless. 

No.  2  passenger  axle  with  journal  3fx7,  collarless. 

No.  3  freight  axle  with  coll;,r  journal  3|x7. 

No.  4  passenger  axle  with  journal  8|x5^. 

No.  5  freight  axle  with  journal  3|x5J. 

No.  6  passenger  axle  with  journal  3:^x5.     (C.  L.  cars.) 

On  Charleston  &  Savannah  Railway — 

No.  7  passenger  axle  with  journal  3|x6. 

No.  8  freight  axle  with  journal  3^x6. 

The  lengths  of  these  are  different. 

The  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Rai  way  has  commenced  the 
substitution  of  standaid  freight  tiucks  with  No.  3  axles  for  those 
requiring  No  5  axles,  and  the  supply  of  No.  5  for  renewals  is  drawn 
from  discarded  trucks  ;  thus  the  purchasing  agent  is  not  required  to 
keep  No.  5  in  stock.  '1  he  No.  2  journal  is'being  substituted  by 
No.  3.  The  committee  recommend  that  No.  4  be  treated  similarly 
to  No.  5,  as  also  the  Charleston  <fe  Savannah  No.  8  journal ;  that  is, 
when  one  of  these  wheels  or  axles  gives  oiit,  a  standard  freight  truck 
with  No.  3  journal  should  be  put  under  that.  The  remaining  good 
■wheels  and  axles  of  No.  8  should  be  used  for  renewals. 

It  is  not  considered  advisable  to  pursue  this  plan  with  standard 
No.  7  of  the  Charleston  &  Savannah  Railway,  as  this  would  necessi- 
tate throwing  away  trucks  recently  overhauled  and  worth,  say,  $600 
or  $700  per  car.     There  are  eight  of  these  cars  in  service. 

These  recommendations  will  involve  keeping  Nos.  1,  3.  6,  and  7, 
making  four  styles  of  axles  of  which  a  supply  will  have  to  be  kept 
in  stock,  against  eight  at  present.  Of  these  Nos.  6  and  7  will  re- 
quire a  very  small  stock,  as  there  are  but  two  cars  fitted  with  No.  6 
style  and  eight  with  No,  7.  The  committee  recommends  that  these 
two  last-named  styles  of  axles  be  eliminated  as  soon  as  possible, 
either  by  selling  the  cars  or  replacing  their  trucks  by  standard  ones 
whenever  they  require  general  repairs.     Received  as  information. 

Joint  Committee  on  Transportation  and  Freight  and  Passage. 

Were  granted  further  time  to  report  on  ' '  Fire  apparatus  ;  Harden 
hand  grenade." 

Joint  Committee  on  Freight  and  Passage  and  Transportation. 

"Transportation  of  live  stock."  The  committee  recommend  that 
the  regulations  now  in  force  on  the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western 
Railway  be  extended  to  cover  the  roads  in  the  system.     Adopted. 

Were  grant  d  further  time  to  report  on  "Passage  regulations;" 
rule  to  govern  opening  of  ticket  offices  and  duty  of  conductors 
where  passengers  have  taken  a  train  which  does  not  stop  at  the 
station  to  which  they  desire  to  go." 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  175 

REPORTS    OF   SPECIAL  COMMITTEES. 

"Garnishments."  Committee  respectfully  report  that  they  have 
conferred  with  Messrs.  Cbisliolm  &  Erwin,  who  advise  that  garnish- 
ments can  only  be  served  on  the  vice-president ;  they  also  recommend 
the  cancelling  of  superintendent's  order  No.  21,  as  contained  in 
time  table  No.  19.  The  committee  have  also  conferred  w^ith  Messrs. 
Brawley  &  Barnwell,  wlio  say  that  in  South  Carolina  an  attachment 
can  be  served  on  president,  superintendent,  secretary,  cashier,  or 
managing  agent,  and  that  as  proceedings  are  often  complicated  and 
irregular,  they  advise  that  all  papers  of  such  nature  be  referred  to 
them.     Adopted.     J.  M,  Lee,  chairman. 

"  Authority  for  heads  of  departments  to  inflict  penalties."  Com- 
mittee respectfully  report  the  following  order  :  *'  Section  4,  para- 
graph 1,  of  general  manager's  order  No.  5,  is  hereby  amended  to 
read  '  In  the  current  series  of  orders  from  general  manager  and 
superintendent,  also  all  orders  issued  or  authorized  by  heads  of 
respective  departments.'  For  application  of  tliis  order  see  8th  para- 
graph of  order  No.  5.  Adopted.  George  W.  Haines,  chairman. 
"  Advisabi.ity  of  keeping  records  of  discharged  employes,"  granted 
further  time. 

NEW  BUSINESS. 

J.  Moultrie  Lee,  chairman  committee  on  constitution  and  by-laws, 
gave  notice  that  at  next  regular  meeting  the  committee  will  move  to 
amend  by-law  No.  6,  so  as  to  read:  " Fifth,  unfinished  business; 
sixth,  new  business.  This  is  done  to  conform  to  rules  of  order 
adopted  by  the  advisory  board. 

By  Capt;  ill  Fleming  : ' '  Whereas,  the  giving  of  credits  to  heads  of 
department^  on  monthly  expenses  of  their  departments  does  not  in 
any  way  decrease  such  expenses. 

"  Resolved,  That  from  this  date  no  credits  be  allowed,  but  heads  of 
departments  shall  furnish  to  committee  on  distribution  of  a(  counts 
an  explanation  of  all  discrepancies  between  the  monthly  estimates 
and  the  actual  expenditures." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Boyleston,  laid  on  the  table  to  be  taken  up  with 
special  report  of  Mr.  Jjimes  L.  Taylor  on  the  principles  which  should 
govern  committee  on  distribution  of  accounts  in  passing  on  expendi- 
tures, etc. 

The  chairman  of  the  committee  on  freight  and  passage  returned 
the  report  of  the  joint  committee  on  freight  and  passage,  and  trans- 
portation, in  relation  to  "collecting  fares  or  tickets  in  sleeping  cars," 
which  had  been  transmitted  to  the  general  freight  and  passenger 
agents  of  the  companies  to  be  complied  with,  witu  the  following  en- 
dorsement:  "Respectfully  returned  to  secretary  of  advisory  board. 
Your  committee  have  deemed  best  not  to  is^ue  the  instru('tions  indi- 
cated in  these  papers,  the  superintendent  of  the  Pullman  Pal  ice  Car 
Company  having  formulated  a  system  and  issued  instructions  very 
similar  to  these  and  obtained  consent  of  all  lines  between  New  York 
an: I  Jacksonville  thereto,  thus  making  the  system  uniform  on  the 
eutiie  line."     Received  as  information. 

There  being  no  further  business,  meeting  adjourned  at  13.55  p.m. 
WILLIAM  B.  MoKEE,  Secretary. 


176  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

I  have  here  given  in  extenso  an  account  of  our  experi- 
ment in  what  may  be  termed  co-operative  management, 
from  its  beginning  as  a  corrective  to  injudicious  expendi- 
tures, until  it  has  broadened  out  into  the  "  Advisory 
Board  "  and  has  become  an  essential  factor  in  the  opera- 
tion of  our  system  of  roads. 

The  immediate  results  have  been,  as  already  stated, 
eminently  satisfactory.  It  has  brought  together  the  de- 
partment officials  of  the  several  roads  in  the  system  to 
advise  for  the  general  good.  Through  the  opportunity 
thus  afforded  for  an  interchange  of  views  on  matters  con- 
nected with  the  operations  of  our  roads,  they  have  learned 
how  each  department  may  obtain  valuable  aid  and  infor- 
mation from  the  experience  acquired  in  other  departments. 
We  have  insured  an  intelligent  development  of  our  meth- 
ods which  has  kept  them  abreast  of  the  best  recog- 
nized practice  elsewhere,  so  far  as  it  is  adapted  to  our 
surroundings,  and  in  many  ways  which  I  will  not  attempt 
further  to  describe,  it  has  been  of  valuable  assistance  to 
the  responsible  management.  In  fact,  it  has  virtually 
become  a  part  of  the  responsible  management  itself. 

When  it  became  evident  last  spring  that  business  would 
be  dull  during  the  summer  we  considered  it  advisable  to 
reduce  our  expenses  for  a  definite  period  by  an  assumed 
percentage.  The  actual  reduction  upon  this  basis  for  each 
department  was  then  figured  out,  and  each  head  of  depart- 
ment accordingly  notified  as  to  what  was  expected  of  him. 
They,  each  of  them,  sent  in  a  proposition  as  to  how  they 
proposed  to  effect  the  reduction  as  required.  With  some 
modifications  these  propositions  were  approved,  and  the 
results  as  estimated  were  obtained  without  that  annoyance 
and  friction  which  had  accompanied  previous  reductions 
when  the  whole  responsibility  had  to  be  borne  by  the  gen- 
eral manager  and  superintendents. 

Eailroad  managers  are  not  born  to  their  positions  ;  they 
usually  reach  them  through  some  one  of  the  operating 
departments.     If  such  promotion  comes  to  a  man  whose 


MISCELLAITEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  177 

life-long  experience  has  been  with  machinery,  or  on  the 
track,  in  train  service,  or  in  a  freight  office,  he  must  be 
more  or  less  one-sided  when  he  becomes  responsible  for 
all  the  operating  departments.  His  intellectual  efforts  will 
be  expended  in  the  line  of  least  resistance  and  he  will 
have  to  guard  against  meddling  too  much  with  the  affairs 
of  that  department  in  which  his  reputation  was  gained 
and  against  neglecting  those  in  which  his  experience  has 
not  been  so  great. 

The  advisory  board  affords  just  the  training  to  remedy 
such  defects.  In  committee  and  in  discussion  at  the 
monthly  meetings  each  member  gets  an  insight  into  the 
workings  of  departments  other  than  his  own,  which  must 
tend  to  prepare  him  for  promotion  if  he  be  otherwise  fitted 
for  it. 

There  is  a  still  larger  view  which  may  be  taken  of  the 
federative  plan  of  managing  separate  corporations  ;  one 
which  includes  their  relations  with  the  state  governments 
which  have  created  them. 

ISTo  thoughtful  person  can  look  with  unconcern  upon 
the  growing  estrangement  between  the  public  in  general 
and  the  corporations  which  control  the  railroad  system  of 
the  United  States.  Unless  this  condition  of  things  can  be 
remedied,  unless  a  way  can  be  contrived  by  which  the 
public  can  be  satisfied  that  the  private  ownership  of  rail- 
roads is  compatible  with  the  general  welfare,  the  conclu- 
sion seems  indisputable  that  the  private  ownership  of  rail- 
roads must  cease.  How  it  is  to  be  terminated  is  another 
matter.  A  variety  of  ways  suggest  themselves,  varying 
from  absolute  confiscation  to  the  purchase  at  a  fair  price 
by  the  state  from  the  private  stockholders.  In  any  event 
state  control  means  state  management.  R  means  that 
about  one  million  of  American  citizens  employed  upon 
railroads  will  become  the  servants  of  the  political  party  in 
power  ;  that  vacant  positions  will  be  filled  by  political 
favorites  and  not  in  accordance  with  a  stern  disregard 
of  aught  save  suitability  which  is  characteristic  of  the 


178  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

best  modern  railway  practice  ;  that  red  tape  will  reign 
supreme  and  will  repress  the  spirit  of  progressive  im- 
provement which  existing  competition  has  fostered  ;  that 
claims  for  personal  injuries,  for  alleged  breaches  of  con- 
tract, and  for  other  wrongs  against  private  individuals 
will,  when  brought  to  trial  before  a  jury,  receive  a  differ- 
ent sort  of  consideration,  when  the  taxpayers  must  ulti- 
mately pay  the  damages,  than  when  they  are  to  be  ex- 
tracted from  the  treasury  of  "  a  soulless  corporation." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon  the  effects  of  state 
control.  It  has  been  tried  time  and  again  in  this 
country  and  invariably  with  the  same  result.  A  disgusted 
legislature  has  been  glad  to  dispose  of  the  property,  either 
by  sale  or  lease,  to  private  parties. 

The  prevailing  dissatisfaction  with  the  private  owner- 
ship of  railroads  is  partly  factitious  and  is  partly  justifi- 
able. Several  causes  have  contributed  to  it.  The  com- 
petition of  rival  lines  for  the  business  of  the  same  town 
or  region  has  brought  about  a  reduction  of  rates  below  a 
profitable  point  ;  the  inevitable  restoration  of  rates  has  led 
to  an  outcry  from  those  who  had  been  benefitted  at  the 
expense  of  the  suffering  stockholders.  State  control 
would  stop  this  business  by  a  cast-iron  freight  tariff  which 
it  would  take  no  little  amount  of  legislative  lobbying  and 
wire-pulling  to  modify. 

Then  too,  one  city  become  jealous  of  another.  Its  citi- 
zens think  that  the  other  is  stealing  its  trade,  and  im- 
mediately look  to  their  railroad  connections  for  protection  ; 
not  to  put  the  one  market  on  an  equality  with  the  other 
but  to  give  it  an  advantage  in  rates,  no  doubt  again  at 
the  cost  of  the  stockholders.  Here  also  state  control 
would  intervene  and  put  a  stop  to  such  ill-advised  compe- 
tition, unless  state  pride  could  also  be  aroused,  and  the 
taxpayers  of  each  state  become  interested  in  a  border  war- 
fare. At  points  where  competition  can  exist  the  people 
think  that  for  this  very  reason  they  should  have  lower 
rates  than  their  less  favored  neighbors  and  resent  the 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  179 

efforts  of  the  several  companies  to  restrict  competition  by 
means  of  traffic  agreements. 

On  the  other  hand  the  merchants  in  a  town  dependent 
on  a  single  railroad  can  not  be  convinced  that  it  is  right 
to  make  them  pay  more  for  this  reason.  They  think  that 
the  demands  of  competitive  points  should  be  disregarded 
until  such  time  as  they  get  another  road  built  to  their 
own  town.  A  state  management  would  settle  this  dispute 
in  but  one  way.  It  would  establish  certain  rates  for  cer- 
tain  distances  and  let  the  merchants  fight  it  out  among 
themselves.  If  under  such  a  ruling  one  of  two  roads  lost 
much  business  the  taxpayers  would  make  good  the  differ- 
ence. A  management  responsible  for  dividends  to  stock- 
holders can  not  afford  to  do  this.  It  must  see  to  it,  that 
a  market  upon  which  it  is  dependent  for  patronage  does 
not  lose  trade  so  long  as  that  traffic  can  be  handled  with  a 
margin  for  profit,  and  that  local  industries  must  not  be 
swamped  or  absorbed  by  a  rival  at  competitive  points.  In 
a  word,  the  officials  who  are  responsible  for  the  proper  con- 
duct of  the  traffic  of  a  railroad  must  be  sensitive  to  every 
wind  that  blows  ;  they  must  know  the  tendencies  of  trade 
as  well  as  the  merchant,  and  must  stand  ready  to  protect 
the  business  of  their  customers  to  the  point  where  it  can 
only  be  protected  at  a  loss  to  stockholders.  This  is  gen- 
erally the  case  to  an  extent  not  comprehended  by  those 
whom  they  protect,  and  who  apparently  consider  any 
freight  rate  too  high  if  its  reduction  would  add  either  to 
their  trade  or  to  their  profits. 

This  matter  of  rates  is  then  one  of  the  causes  of  dissatis- 
faction with  the  private  ownership  of  railroads  above  al- 
luded to.  Either  there  must  or  there  must  not  be  compe- 
tition in  rates. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  this  competition  under 
state  control  can  be  readily  adjusted  to  the  fluctuating  de- 
mands of  commerce  throughout  the  United  States.  Thirty 
or  forty  sets  of  state  commissioners  would  muddle  the 
situation  beyond  conception  and  the  end  would  be  an  un- 


180  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

variable  scale  of  rates  for  distances,  the  last  refuge  for 
inexperienced  minds  overwhelmed  with  the  confusion  and 
dissatisfaction  which  they  themselves  have  wrought. 

Another  cause  of  public  dissatisfaction  which  may  well 
be  called  factitious,  is  the  prevalent  opinion  that  railroad 
officials  are  oppressive  and  tjrrannical.  As  these  officials 
are  as  much  amenable  to  the  law  as  any  other  class  of  citi- 
zens— and  perhaps  a  little  more  so — it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand just  what  is  meant  by  the  expression  of  such  an  opin- 
ion. It  probably  means  that  they  are  disposed  to  disre- 
gard the  rights  and  feelings  of  persons  who  have  business 
with  them.  Now,  how  one  man  will  treat  another  de- 
pends very  much  on  his  own  disposition.  If  he  is 
naturally  brusque  or  haughty,  his  official  behavior  will 
show  it. 

But  the  greater  part  of  any  railroad  official's  intercourse 
with  the  public  is  of  necessity  through  the  medium  of  a 
written  correspondence.  That  official  correspondence  is 
apt  to  be  brief  rather  than  diffusively  polite  goes  without 
saying.  That  every  man's  business  with  a  railroad  official 
cannot  be  disposed  of  summarily  without  investigation 
and  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  business  is  equally  true. 
It  may  well  happen  that  with  the  many  demands  upon  the 
time  of  one  overburdened  official,  his  replies  to  corre- 
spondents may  be  brief  to  rudeness  or  delayed  to  a  point 
that  tests  the  temper  of  his  correspondent ;  but  this  might 
just  as  well  be  the  case  if  the  official  served  the  state  as 
if  he  served  a  private  corporation.  The  difference  is  that 
in  the  one  case  an  appeal  to  the  law  would  serve  the  injured 
correspondent,  if  he  really  had  a  grievance,  in  quite  an- 
other fashion  than  in  the  other. 

The  purpose  of  a  railroad  is  transportation.  It  involves, 
daily,  thousands  and  thousands  of  transactions  between 
the  railroads  and  the  public  which  aj-e  in  fact  the  con- 
tracts of  a  common  carrier.  If  these  railroad  officials 
were  justly  chargeable  with  a  disregard  of  the  rights  of 
those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact,  certainly  it  would 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  181 

be  more  apparent  in  their  many  dealings  of  this  kind  than 
in  any  other  way.  What  is  the  experience  of  any  railroad 
official  ?  How  much  of  the  litigation  which  renders  it 
necessary  for  a  railroad  corporation  to  have  an  organized 
legal  staff,  is  in  cases  where  the  law  of  common  carrier  is 
involved  ?  It  will  be  found  that  it  is  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  total  railroad  litigation  which  takes  up  the 
time  of  the  courts.  Claims  for  overcharge,  for  loss  or 
damage  of  goods  are  adjusted  in  behalf  of  the  company 
by  experts  who  must  in  the  majority  of  cases  give  satis- 
faction to  shippers  or  there  would  be  more  litigation  of 
this  kind  than  there  really  is. 

It  is  not  to  be  asserted  that  many  such  cases  do  not  come 
to  trial  because  of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  justice.  Let 
the  claim  be  of  a  different  kind ;  let  a  farmer's  cow  be  killed 
or  a  passenger  slightly  injured  and  what  difficulty  does 
the  plaintiff  find  in  getting  redress  through  the  courts  ? 
How  the  court  house  will  ring  with  invective  against  the 
domineering,  extortionate,  oppressive  and  tyrannical  cor- 
poration whose  engine-driver  did  not  stop  his  train  in  time 
for  the  cow  to  step  off  the  track,  or  whose  conductor, 
through  neglect  or  violation  of  the  compan/s  rules, 
brought  about  the  injury  to  the  person  complaining. 
Now,  the  sympathy  of  cattle  owners  on  the  jury  will  be 
appealed  to  in  valuing  the  stray  beast  or  in  diagnosing  the 
internal  injuries  of  the  plaintiff  whose  sufferings  will  cease 
only  when  the  verdict  is  announced.  This  sham  of  hold- 
ing up  a  railroad  corporation  before  a  jury  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  extortion,  oppression  and  disregard  of  law  and 
morals  has  been  worn  so  threadbare  that  the  lawyers  can 
hardly  keep  from  laughing  while  they  are  in  the  act  of 
using  it  ;  yet  it  serves  the  purpose  well  and  it  is  at  the 
bottom  of  much  of  the  prejudice  against  railroad  cor- 
porations. It  has  lent  itself  readily  to  political  dema- 
gogues as  well.  It  may  justly  be  denounced  as  the  means 
for  extorting  money  from  railroad  companies  since  many 
a  claim  for  injury,  either  personal  or  to  live  stock,  which  is 


182  AMERICAN    RA.ILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

without  a  shadow  of  justice^,  is  settled  by  compromise  be- 
fore the  railroad  will  spend  time  and  money  in  an  appeal 
for  justice  where  justice  cannot  be  hoped  for. 

Is  there  not  ample  reason  for  saying  that  public  dissatis- 
faction with  the  treatment  of  these  claims  of  individuals 
by  railroad  officials  is  factitious  and  that  there  is  more 
.  reason  for  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  railroad  cor- 
porations ?  Let  the  state  once  own  the  railroads  and  how 
the  situation  will  change  ! 

We  now  come  to  some  reasons  for  objection  to  private 
ownership  of  railroads  which  are  better  founded.  There 
can  be  no  just  cause  for  complaint  if  a  company,  which 
gives  good  service,earn  large  dividends  upon  money  actually 
invested  in  its  property.  Judicious  investment  of  private 
capital  in  public  works  is  for  the  general  good  :  it  tends 
to  increase  the  general  prosperity.  The  notion  that  a  rail- 
road company  should  not  earn  more  from  the  capital 
risked  in  such  a  venture  than  the  rate  of  interest  which 
a  bank  may  lawfully  charge  for  a  loan  upon  unquestionable 
securities,  is  absurd.  The  regulation  of  railroad  rates  upon 
such  a  basis  is  unjust  unless  the  state  is  prepared  to  guar- 
antee dividends  upon  the  capital  stock  and  bonds  at  the 
lawful  rate  of  interest.  State  interference  with  railroad 
rates,  without  such  a  guarantee,  is  rank  injustice,  and 
will  surely  deter  further  investments  in  railroad  enter- 
prises. The  ground  for  public  complaint  is  good  where 
the  company  undertakes  to  pay  dividends  on  stock  which 
does  not  represent  money  actually  invested.  To  my  mind 
the  complaint  is  a  righteous  one,  and  the  extent  to  which 
this  evil  has  been  carried  has  been  the  occasion  in  a  great 
measure  of  the  present  unsatisfactory  condition  of  affairs. 

If  the  railroad  property  in  the  United  States  was  to- 
day capitalized  for  the  money  actually  invested  in  it — 
wisely  or  otherwise — and  the  managements  had  been  left 
to  make  their  own  rates,  I  believe  that  the  people  would 
have  lower  rates  and  be  better  accommodated  ;  the  stock 
would  be  above  par,  and  the  railroad  employees  would  be 


MiSCELLAKEOUS  ADDRESSES,  EtC.  183 

better  paid.  I  believe  that  this  watering  of  stock  is  at  the 
foundation  of  all  our  troubles,  and  that  if  it  had  been 
prevented  b}^  law  there  would  have  been  but  little  need 
or  demand  for  other  railroad  legislation. 

Those  who  have  been  the  foremost  in  this  practice  are 
not  the  most  to  blame  for  it.  Some  things  forced  them  to 
it ;  other  things  favored  it. 

The  stockholders  in  the  older  and  smaller  railroad  com- 
panies suffered  by  the  unrestricted  competition  which  ex- 
isted before  pools  were  thought  of.  Ill-advised  invest- 
ments in  unproductive  railroad  enterprises  ended  in  bank- 
ruptcy, and  the  courts  led  the  way  to  watering  stock  by 
appointing  receivers  to  operate  railroads,  and  by  trans- 
ferring a  railroad  franchise  through  the  foreclosure  of  a 
mortgage.  No  wonder  that  stockholders  lost  faith  in  the 
final  outcome  of  an  enterprise  and  sold  out  at  panic  prices 
when  dividends  were  not  forthcoming  ! 

Suppose  that  our  courts  had  adopted  what  we  under- 
stand to  be  the  English  practice  ?  Suppose  that  they 
had  held  the  franchise  inviolate  in  the  corporation,  and 
that  only  the  profits  could  be  mortgaged  and  be  admin- 
istered by  a  receiver  ?  The  stockholders  would  then  have 
been  responsible  to  the  courts  for  an  honest  and  faithful 
management  of  the  property ;  the  track,  bridges  and 
equipment  would  have  been  maintained  in  good  order 
and  with  due  regard  for  the  lives  of  passengers  ;  the  rates 
would  have  been  high  enough  at  least  to  secure  this  re- 
sult ;  or  the  court  would  not  have  permitted  the  road  to 
be  operated.  Only  the  net  earnings  would  have  been  at 
the  disposal  of  the  company's  creditors.  The  property 
itself  would  not  have  been  wasted  away.  How  the  stock- 
holders and  bondholders  would  have  adjusted  their  affairs 
in  the  courts  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss.  The  Eng- 
lish people  have  found  out  the  way  while  with  us  the 
watering  of  stock  has  ensued  mainly  as  a  sequence  to  the 
transfer  of  a  franchise  from  one  railroad  corporation  to 
another  by  legal  foreclosure  and  sale. 


1S4  AMEKlCAK   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMEKT. 

The  next  circumstance  which  I  will  consider  as  leading 
the  way  to  issuing  fictitious  stock,  is  the  consolidation  of 
railroad  corporations.  When  such  consolidation  included 
corporations  in  different  states,  the  way  was  opened  for 
a  new  batch  of  legal  complications  arising  out  of  conflicts 
of  state  jurisdiction,  difference  in  laws,  etc.,  which  has 
burdened  the  United  States  courts  with  litigation  which 
would  have  been  spared  them  if  each  state  had  held  its 
own  domestic  corporations  strictly  within  its  own  juris- 
diction. By  missing  this  opportunity  the  way  has  been 
opened  for  the  consolidation  of  state  charters  into  corpora- 
tions extending  through  many  states,  and  for  stock 
schemes  as  incidental  to  this  mighty  expansion,  which 
have  loaded  the  properties  with  burdens  beyond  their 
power  to  carry. 

The  ostensible  reason  for  the  creation  of  these  mighty 
consolidations  is  the  better  and  more  economic  service 
that  could  thereby  be  rendered  to  the  public,  and  this 
reason  would  be  valid  if  this  service  could  not  otherwise 
be  rendered. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  federative  plan  of  managing 
separate  corporations  provides  for  the  increased  efficiency 
of  service  sought  for  by  corporate  consolidations,  while  it 
obviates  the  objections  to  which  that  plan  is  open. 

Each  railroad  company  might  retain  its  own  corporate 
existence  and  local  management  and  yet  be  represented 
for  the  general  good  in  a  system  comprising  many  cor- 
porations. 

The  local  management  could  then  be  kept  in  accord 
with  its  local  patrons,  while  under  a  great  consolidation  the 
responsible  management  may  be  a  thousand  miles  away, 
and  the  complaining  voice  may  die  into  silence  without 
even  an  echo  reaching  the  ear  of  him  who  alone  can  apply 
the  remedy.  The  stock  of  each  corporation  could  be  kept 
apart  from  the  others  and  held  in  varying  proportions  by 
different  persons.  The  dividend-paying  stocks  would  again 
become  attractive  as  investments  among  local  stockholders. 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  185 

with  the  benefit  of  having  residents  along  the  line  inter- 
ested in  maintaining  pleasant  relations  between  the  cor- 
poration and  the  public.  But  when  stock  in  a  well  located 
road  is  liable  to  be  merged  into  the  stock  of  another  whose 
end  is  bankruptcy,  small  shareholders  disappear,  and  the 
stock  aggregates  in  large  "blocks/'  better  suited  for 
speculative  purposes  and  for  making  "comers''  in  Wall 
street. 

The  making  of  local  rates  and  the  control  of  all  mat- 
ters in  which  the  interest  of  other  roads  in  the  system 
were  not  involved  should  remain  with  the  local  manage- 
ment. The  authority  of  the  superior  or  supervising  man- 
agement should  attach  only  to  the  traffic  between  the  roads 
in  the  system  or  with  outside  corporations.  This  superior 
management  could  establish  at  convenient  points  works 
for  building  locomotives,  cars  and  certain  other  equipment 
and  supplies,  in  which  the  several  corporations  were  inter- 
ested as  shareholders,  paying  for  what  they  got  at  market 
prices  and  receiving  their  profits  in  the  shape  of  dividends. 
Such  an  organization  would  take  the  place  of  the  central- 
ized management  of  a  consolidated  system  without  being 
loaded  down  with  the  determination  of  a  multitude  of 
problems  which  could  be,  in  every  way,  better  disposed 
of  by  a  local  management ;  and  being  thus  relieved  it 
could  the  better  consider  those  larger  questions,  technical 
and  administrative,  which  call  for  a  broader  treatment  than 
they  are  likely  to  receive  from  a  general  manager  and  his 
staff  with  what  is  now  expected  of  them. 

I  have  not  undertaken  in  this  article  to  embody  all  the 
reasons  which  recommend  to  my  mind  the  system  of  man- 
agement which  I  have  here  indicated  in  outline. 

To  the  stockholder  who  is  desirous  of  reasonably  certain 
dividends  ;  to  the  railroad  manager  who  will  part  with 
the  shadow  of  autocratic  power  for  the  sake  of  more  effi- 
cient control  ;  to  the  political  economist  who  seeks  the 
surest  means  of  increasing  the  nation's  wealth  ;  to  the 
statesman  who  appreciates  the  necessity  for  maintaining 


186  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMEKT. 

proper  relations  between  the  public  and  those  who  control 
their  ways  of  transportation,  this  matter  of  efficient  rail- 
way management  is  of  importance. 

I  trust  that  this  article  thrown  hastily  together  in  the 
spare  moments  of  a  busy  life  offers  some  suggestions  to- 
ward its  solution. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  18t 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  FREIGHT  RATES.  JUST 
AND  UNJUST  DISCRIMINATION.  AGREE- 
MENTS FOR  POOLING  COMPETITIVE  TRAF- 
FIC. 

(Statement  made  to  Select  Committee  on  Interstate  Commerce,  United 
States  Senate,  Forty-ninth  Congress,  First  Session.  Submitted 
to  the  Senate  January  18,  1886.) 

UNJUST  DISCRIMINATION  AND  EXTORTION. 

It  is  common  to  couple  the  charge  of  extortion  with  un- 
just discrimination  when  exception  is  taken  to  railroad 
tariffs,  but  what  is  meant  by  extortion  in  this  connection 
has  not  been  clearly  stated.  Webster  defines  extortion 
as  "  the  act  or  practice  of  wresting  anything  from  a  ])er- 
son  by  force,  duress,  menaces,  authority,  or  by  any  undue 
exercise  of  power  ;  illegal  exaction  ;  illegal  compulsion  to 
pay  money  or  to  do  some  other  act/'  This  definition 
seems  to  refer  to  the  tyrannical  conduct  of  a  government 
official,  in  defiance  of  law,  and  its  application  to  railroad 
tariffs  seems  inappropriate.  The  charge  of  unjust  dis- 
crimination is  capable  of  definite  application  to  railroad 
rates.  The  expression  "  unjust  discrimination "  recog- 
nizes that  discrimination  may  be  just,  and  leads  us  to  con- 
sider, first,  as  to  what  discrimination  in  railroad  tariffs 
means,  and  then  as  to  what  constitutes  unjust  discrim- 
ination. 

Discrimination  is  primarily  a  departure  from  uniformity. 
Uniformity  in  its  simplest  form  would  be  the  transporta- 
tion of  every  kind  of  freight  for  any  distance,  over  one  or 
more  roads,  at  the  same  rate. 

But  lumber  and  feathers  have  not  a  uniform  weight  as 
compared  with  their  bulk,  nor  a  uniform  value,  and  if  a 
uniform  rate  were  to  be  applied  to  both,  the  lumber  ship- 
per would  claim  that  the  rate  must  be  so  fixed  that  he  could 
ship  lumber  with  a  margin  of  profit,  and  the  shipper  of 
feathers  would  be  well  satisfied  with  the  same  rates. 
Therefore  the  public  is  not  interested  in  having  a  classified 


188  AMERICAN   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

freight  tariff  so  long  as  the  uniform  rate  applied  to  all 
articles  will  permit  the  profitable  shipment  of  the  heaviest, 
bulkiest,  and  least  valuable  of  them.  Why,  then,  are 
freights  classified  at  all,  since  the  public  could  be  equally 
well  served  by  a  uniform  rate  ?  The  answer  is  that  un- 
classified rates  would  not  be  "  just  and  reasonable "  to 
the  carriers — that  goods  should  be  classed  with  a  view 
to  their  weight,  value,  and  convenience  for  handling,  in 
order  that  the  carrier  may  get  a  larger  profit  out  of  trans- 
porting silks  and  other  light  and  costly  articles,  and 
thereby  be  enabled  to  charge  a  lesser  profit  on  coal,  lumber, 
and  other  articles  of  little  value  in  proportion  to  their 
weight.  Here  is  a  plain  case  of  discrimination  against 
that  class  of  citizens  which  manufactures,  deals  in,  or  pur- 
chases silks,  spices,  feathers,  willow  ware,  &c.,  ostensibly 
to  benefit  the  carrier,  but  practically  for  the  benefit  of 
that  other  class  of  citizens  which  produces,  manufactures, 
deals  in,  or  purchases  lumber,  coal,  iron,  &c.  This  fun- 
damental departure  from  a  strictly  uniform  tariff  may  be 
seen  in  its  simplest  form  in  the  charter  of  the  Georgia 
Eailroad  Company,  which  recognizes  but  two  classes  of 
freight  :  "  heavy  articles,"  to  be  carried  by  weight,  and 
"  light  articles,"  to  be  carried  by  cubic  measure. 

After  many  years  of  differing  views  among  railroad 
managers  and  of  complaints  and  protests  from  shippers, 
each  road  or  group  of  roads  arrived  at  a  classification 
which  served  its  purpose  and  caused  no  complaint  from 
local  shippers  ;  but  when  a  shipment  was  to  be  made  over 
several  roads  or  groups  of  roads  the  varying  classification 
caused  inconvenience  to  the  roads  and  annoyance  to  the 
shippers.  The  establishment  of  the  Southern  Eailroad 
and  Steamship  Association  was  followed  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  from  among  its  members  which, 
after  long  deliberation,  prepared  a  classification  based 
upon  the  trunk-line  classification  in  the  Northern  and 
Western  States.  Every  road  in  the  Association  adopted 
it,  making  special  rates  for  certain  articles,  such  as  lumber 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  189 

on  the  sea-coast  roads,  coal  and  iron  on  the  mountain 
roads,  and  oranges  and  early  vegetables  on  the  lines  lead- 
ing from  Florida.  When  the  Georgia  Eailroad  Commis- 
sion came  into  being  it  found  a  uniform  classification 
already  in  existence,  and  very  wisely  refrained  from  any 
extensive  meddling  with  it. 

Besides  charging  different  rates  for  different  classes  of 
goods,  another  departure  from  uniformity  was  made  by 
charging  different  rates  for  transporting  the  same  class  of 
goods  different  distances,  and  looking  from  the  shipper's 
side  it  is  difficult  to  see  the  justice  of  this  discrimination. 
Why  should  a  farmer  who  lives  200  miles  from  Savannah 
pay  more  for  having  his  cotton  carried  there  than  one 
who  lives  only  100  miles  distant  ?  The  one  gets  no  more 
for  his  cotton  than  the  other,  and  yet  he  is  discriminated 
against  because  he  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  live  farther 
away  from  the  market.  There  is  more  justice  in  such  a 
position  than  will  at  first  be  admitted,  and  it  has  been 
recognized  for  many  years  in  the  transportation  of  fer- 
tilizers in  the  Southern  States,  evidently  to  the  advantage 
of  manufacturers  and  planters.  This  shows  that  if  rates 
had  originally  been  charged  without  regard  to  distance, 
as  is  still  the  case  with  river  steamboat  transportation, 
shippers  would  have  had  no  cause  to  complain,  so  long 
as  the  uniform  rate  was  low  enough  for  profitable  sale  or 
use  of  the  goods  after  reaching  their  destination.  But 
there  was  more  profit  to  the  carrier  in  making  two  trips 
per  day  with  the  same  engine  and  cars  than  in  a  single 
daily  trip,  or  perliaps  only  one  trip  in  two  days  ;  and  here 
again,  as  with  classifying  goods,  the  original  motive  for 
discrimination  was  to  favor  the  carrier  ;  i.e.,  it  was  unjust 
and  unreasonable  to  expect  him  to  get  no  more  profit  out 
of  a  car  loaded  for  a  point  two  days  distant  than  if  it  could 
be  returned  the  next  day,  or  perhaps  the  same  day.  This 
was  probably  the  cause  of  discrimination  for  distance  al- 
lowed in  the  Georgia  Eailroad  Company's  charter,  which 
allowed  an  additional  charge  for  every  one  hundred  miles. 


190  AMERICAIT   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

But  after  awhile  the  reason  for  this  discrimination  was 
forgotten,  and  the  man  shipping  goods  50  miles  thought 
it  a  hardship  to  pay  as  much  as  the  man  that  shipped  100 
miles.  The  man  that  shipped  10  miles  would  not  pay 
more  than  if  he  shipped  by  wagon,  and  so  the  principle 
that  rates  should  be  somehow  proportioned  by  distance 
got  so  well  established  that  it  became  customary  to 
place  several  stations  lying  consecutively  together  in 
one  group  for  the  purpose  of  making  freight  rates,  al- 
though the  same  group  would  sometimes  include  stations 
lying  30  or  40  miles  apart.  This  saved  the  railroad  com- 
panies a  multiplicity  of  rates,  and  the  dealers  at  adjacent 
stations  generally  paid  the  same  rates,  so  that  it  worked 
out  satisfactorily  to  both  parties. 

The  Georgia  Eailroad  Commission  has  ignored  this 
custom  of  grouping  stations  in  making  the  standard  tariff. 
Their  rate  on  first  class  for  10  miles  is  16  cents  per  100 
pounds  ;  for  20  miles,  20  cents  ;  for  30  miles,  24  cents  ; 
so  the  man  living  20  miles  from  Savannah  pays  10  cents 
more  per  100  pounds  than  he  who  lives  10  miles  nearer, 
and  10  cents  less  than  if  he  lived  10  miles  further.  But 
if  he  lived  250  miles  from  Savannah  he  will  pay  only  1 
cent  per  hundred  pounds  more  than  his  neighbor  10  miles 
distant  on  one  side,  and  one  cent  per  100  pounds  less  than 
the  neighbor  10  miles  distant  on  the  other  side.  The 
principle  upon  which  this  tariff  is  based  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained from  an  examination  of  it;  the  ratio  of  increment  of 
rates  with  each  increase  of  distance  is  variable  with  each 
class  of  rates  and  for  every  distance.  The  rate  on  coal  for 
10  miles  is  50  cents  per  ton,  and  for  iron  80  cents  per  ton, 
so  for  10  miles  iron  pays  30  cents  (or  60  per  cent.)  more 
than  coal  does  ;  but  follow  the  distance  in  each  class 
out  to  250  miles  and  the  rate  is  the  same  for  both  articles, 
while  for  350  miles  the  rate  is  80  cents  per  ton  more  on 
coal  than  on  iron.  For  some  reason  the  ratio  is  so  variable 
that  the  class  of  goods  which  for  10  miles  paid  30  cents 
per  ton  more  than  th^  other,  paid  80  cents  less  per  ton 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  191 

if  both  were  carried  350  miles.  I  think  that  this  class 
of  discriminations  originated  with  the  Georgia  Kailroad 
Commission. 

The  next  class  of  discrimination  in  rates  is  in  permitting 
two  corporations,  each  operating  a  road  100  miles  in  length, 
to  charge,  each  of  them,  the  100-mile  rate  for  freight 
passing  over  the  entire  length  of  both  lines  ;  whereas  if 
the  same  200  miles  of  road  had  belonged  to  the  same  cor- 
poration the  200-mile  rate  would  have  been  charged.  For 
instance,  referring  again  to  the  standard  tariff  of  the 
Georgia  Eailroad  Commission,  goods  in  first  class  for  100 
miles  are  charged  at  45  cents  perJ^ILpimnds  ;  therefore, 
on  a  shipment  over  thcy^estern  &  Atlanti^road,  from  a 
point  100  miles  west  of  ^ilantapEoa  point  on  the  Georgia 
Railroad  100  miles  east  of  Atlanta,  each  road  would  get 
45  cents  per  100  pounds  and  the  consignee  would  pay  90 
cents  ;  but  if  both  roads  had  belonged  to  the  same  corpo- 
ration he  would  have  paid  70  cents  per  100  pounds.  Why 
should  the  shipper  in  one  instance  be  so  much  more 
favored  than  in  the  other  ?  There  can  be  but  one  answer, 
viz.,  that  the  discrimination  is  in  favor  of  the  two  corpo- 
rations, and  is  rendered  necessary  because  the  tariff  is  based 
upon  a  scale  of  rates  for  distances,  varying  unequally  as 
the  distances  increase.  For  instance,  under  the  tariff  of 
the  Georgia  Railroad  Commission,  goods  in  first  class, 
shipped  over  300  miles  under  one  corporation,  pay  80 
cents  per  100  pounds,  but  if  the  same  goods  were  shipped 
the  same  distance  for  the  same  price  over  two  roads,  one 
of  which  was  200  miles  long  and  the  other  100  miles 
long,  how  is  the  amount  to  be  divided  ?  Is  the  road  over 
200  miles  long  to  claim  the  rate  of  70  cents  allowed  for 
that  distance  and  leave  the  other  road  only  10  cents  out 
of  the  total  80  cents  for  its  100  miles  ;  or  is  the  100  mile 
road  to  claim  the  45  cents  allowed  for  that  distance  and 
leave  the  200  mile  road  only  35  cents  for  double  the  dis- 
tance ?  This  inconsistency  can  only  be  avoided  by  al- 
lowing each  road  to  charge  its  local  rates  ;  and  here  again, 


192  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

to  favor  these  two  corporations,  shippers  are  discriminated 
against  in  a  way  that  they  would  not  be  if  shipping  the 
same  distance  over  a  single  road  ;  or  to  state  the  same 
thing  in  another  way,  the  commission  considered  it  un- 
just and  unreasonable  to  the  railroads  to  require  equal 
rates  for  equal  distances  under  such  circumstances. 

The  next  class  of  discrimination  is  where  equal  amounts 
of  goods  of  the  same  class  are  shipped  equal  distances  over 
different  roads.  It  would  seem  that  in  such  cases  the 
railroad  commission  should  put  a  citizen  living  at  Savan- 
nah upon  an  equality  with  a  citizen  living  at  Atlanta  ; 
but  if  the  latter  ships  second-class  goods  100  miles  out 
of  Atlanta  to  a  station  on  the  Georgia  Railroad  he  pays 
40  cents  per  100  pounds,  but  if  the  Savannah  citizen  ships 
the  same  goods  the  same  distance  on  the  Central  Railroad 
he  must  pay  48  cents,  or  20  per  cent.  more.  The  only 
reason  that  can  be  given  for  this  discrimination  is,  that 
since  the  tonnage  of  the  Central  Railroad  is  less  than  that 
of  the  Georgia  Railroad  it  would  be  unjust  and  unreason- 
able to  require  the  former  road  to  charge  no  more  than  the 
latter  for  performing  the  same  service. 

There  is  another  class  of  discrimination  which  affects 
different  quantities  of  the  same  class  of  goods  shipped  the 
same  distance,  known  as  carload  rates.  In  these  cases 
the  shipper  of  a  carload  of  the  same  articles  to  the  same 
consignee  is  allowed  a  rate  of  20  to  30  per  cent,  less  than 
is  charged  to  the  shipper  of  a  lesser  quantity,  for  the  reason 
that  a  full  carload  for  the  car  is  thereby  insured,  with  the 
cost  of  only  one  entry  on  the  way-bill ;  considerations 
which  seem  to  warrant  the  State  commission  in  requiring 
the  railroad  company  to  do  the  same  amount  of  work  for 
less  money  for  the  one  citizen  than  for  the  other.  I  have 
been  particular  in  citing  the  rates  made  by  the  Georgia 
Railroad  Commission  as  instances  of  that  kind  of  discrimi- 
nation which  was  not  in  the  interest  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany, since  they  were  made  by  an  official  body  appointed 
in  the  interest  of  the  shippers,  from  whose  decision  there 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  193 

is  no  appeal,  and  who  have  officially  reported  that  by  re- 
duction in  rates  they  have  saved  the  people  in  one  year  an 
amount  equal  to  the  entire  State  taxes.  It  may  therefore 
be  fairly  presumed  that  the  discriminations  embodied  in 
their  official  freight  tariffs  cannot  be  considered  as  unjust 
toward  shippers.     What  are  the  discriminations  ? 

(1)  That  goods  offered  for  shipment  are  classified  ; 
that  is,  that  different  rates  are  charged  for  different  classes. 

(2)  That  different  rates  are  charged  for  transporting 
different  goods  for  different  distances. 

(3)  That  the  rate  of  increase  in  rates  for  distance  is 
variable  with  each  class  of  rates  and  for  every  distance. 

(4)  That  the  scale  of  rates  for  distance  only  applies  to 
shipments  over  the  line  of  one  corporation,  and  is  applied 
afresh  to  the  same  shipment  when  it  passes  on  to  the  line 
of  another  corporation. 

(5)  That  the  scale  of  rates  for  distance  may  vary  for 
different  roads,  as  between  a  road  with  a  light  and  with  a 
heavy  tonnage. 

(6)  That  the  scale  of  rates  for  distances  may  vary  for 
different  shippers,  where  one  has  a  carload  to  ship  and  the 
other  has  not. 

These  principles  have  been  applied  by  the  Georgia  Eail- 
road  Commission  only  to  what  is  known  as  local  business, 
or  that  for  which  there  is  no  competition.  They  would  be 
as  applicable,  under  such  conditions,  to  interstate  com- 
merce as  to  that  which  is  contained  within  the  borders  of 
one  State. 

But  the  State  commission  before  mentioned  had  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  competitive  traffic.  For  instance, 
between  Augusta  and  Savannah  there  were  rival  routes, 
one  altogether  within  the  State  and  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  commission,  and  others  which  were  not.  The  Georgia 
Central  was  permitted  to  charge  34  cents  per  hundred 
pounds,  or  about  $1.56  per  bale  on  cotton  from  Augusta 
to  Savannah,  but  the  competition  by  a  rival  route  through 
South  Carolina  preyented  that  company  from  getting  any 


194  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAN^AGEMENT. 

cotton  at  that  price.  They  could  not  get  more,  perhaps, 
than  $1  per  bale.  But,  under  the  rules  of  the  commission, 
if  they  adopted  less  freight  rates  from  one  station,  they 
were  required  to  make  a  reduction  of  the  same  per  cent, 
at  all  stations  along  the  line  of  the  road,  "  so  as  not  to 
make  an  unjust  discrimination  against  any  person  or 
locality.^'  So  this  company  could  not  lower  its  rates  on 
cotton  from  Augusta  one-third  without  reducing  its  cotton 
rates  one-third  from  every  other  station  on  its  line. 
Whereupon  the  railroad  commission  issued  an  additional 
order,  as  follows  : 

"  Competing  lines  not  all  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
commission.  When,  however,  from  any  point  in  this 
State  there  are  competing  lines,  one  or  more  not  subject 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  commission,  then  the  line  or  lines 
which  are  so  subject,  and  are  working  at  the  lowest  rate 
under  the  rules,  may,  at  such  competing  point,  make  rates 
below  the  standard  tariff  to  meet  such  competition  without 
making  a  corresponding  reduction  along  the  line  of  road." 

Under  this  amendment,  what  becomes  of  the  "  unjust 
discrimination  against  a  locality  "  ?  Why  should  Augusta 
shippers  be  given  a  lower  rate  than  is  allowed  to  a  station 
10  miles  nearer  Savannah  ?  Is  this  not  a  discrimination 
against  a  locality  ?  It  evidently  is,  and  can  only  be  a 
"  just  and  reasonable  "  discrimination  because  it  is  to  the 
benefit  of  the  railroad  corporation. 

And  because  it  is  to  the  benefit  of  the  railroad  corpo- 
ration it  is  to  the  benefit  of  the  public  at  large,  and  in- 
directly to  the  benefit  of  the  shipper  from  a  station  where 
there  is  no  competition  and  where  there  is  a  greater 
charge  for  a  less  distance,  as  I  will  proceed  to  show.  Eail- 
roads  are  built  to  accommodate  communities  dependent 
for  transportation  upon  water-courses,  turnpikes,  or  public 
roads.  They  furnish  cheaper  and  more  convenient 
facilities  than  such  communities  before  possessed,  but  still 
it  costs  something  to  maintain  and  operate  them.  If  no 
charge  was  made  for  "using  them,  this  cost  would  have  to 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  195 

be  met  by  taxation.  But  whether  met  by  taxation  or  by 
charging  freight  and  passenger  rates,  it  is  a  tax  at  least 
upon  the  communities  which  have  no  other  road  to 
market.  If  it  costs  $600,000  per  annum  to  keep  up  a 
road,  then  the  money  must  come  out  of  the  freight  and 
passengers  that  are  obliged  to  pass  over  it.  Whether  the 
amount  of  business  be  small  or  large,  the  money  to  keep 
up  the  road  must  be  forthcoming,  or  it  will  go  to  decay. 
If  100,000  bales  of  cotton  were  the  only  freight  that  passed 
over  a  road  which  carried  no  passengers,  that  cotton  would 
have  to  pay  a  freight  of  $6  per  bale  if  it  cost  $600,000 
per  annum  to  maintain  the  road,  and  no  legislation  could 
make  it  otherwise.  But  if  the  quantity  of  cotton  to  be 
transported  could  be  increased  to  200,000  bales,  then  the 
cost  of  transportation  could  be  fixed  at  $3  per  bale,  to  the 
great  joy  and  relief  of  the  shippers  of  the  first  100,000 
bales  ;  and  yet  the  $600,000  required  to  operate  the  road 
would  be  forthcoming.  Now,  suppose  that  the  community 
which  raised  this  second  100,000  bales  had  a  water  route 
to  market  and  said  to  the  railroad  company,  "  it  only  costs 
a  dollar  per  bale  to  ship  our  cotton  by  water,  but  we  pre- 
fer to  ship  it  by  rail  at  the  same  price,"  who  would  be 
benefited  if  the  company  took  the  cotton  at  a  dollar  per 
bale  ?  Who  but  the  local  shippers  themselves,  for  with- 
out this  addition  to  the  business  of  the  road  they  would 
have  to  pay  $600,000  per  year,  or  $6  per  bale,  to  keep  up 
the  road,  while  with  the  $100,000  obtained  from  the  other 
100,000  bales  of  competitive  or  through  cotton  they  would 
have  to  pay  but  $500,000  or  $5  per  bale  on  their  own 
cotton.  Should  they  turn  around  upon  the  managers  of 
the  railroad  and  say  that  it  was  unjust  to  the  local  shippers 
to  charge  only  a  dollar  per  bale  on  the  through  cotton  ? 
No,  it  is  not  only  just,  but  to  the  benefit  of  the  local  ship- 
pers, that  the  railroad  which  they  are  obliged  to  use  should 
get  all  the  business  it  can  from  those  who  are  not  obliged 
to  use  it,  and  at  any  rate  the  latter  choose  to  pay,  provided, 
and  it  is  a  very  important  provision,  that  such  competitive 


196  AMERICAN   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

business  adds  something  to  the  net  revenue  of  the  road  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  if  it  be  carried  at  anything  above  the 
actual  cost  of  transportation.  Once  this  fact  is  estab- 
lished, that  a  road  is  carrying  competitive  freight  at  any 
rate  above  the  cost  of  transportation,  it  follows  that  such 
rate  is  not  only  just  and  reasonable  to  the  shipper  and 
to  the  corporation,  but  it  is  of  benefit  to  the  local  shipper 
also,  since  it  relieves  his  own  burden  to  the  extent  of  the 
net  profit  derived  from  the  through  business. 

I  have  already  defined  the  discriminations  in  local 
freight  tariffs  which  may  be  considered  as  just  and  reason- 
able, and  have  shown  that  it  is  not  an  unjust  discrimi- 
nation against  local  shippers  for  competitive  freights  to 
be  transported  at  less  rates  for  the  same  or  greater  dis- 
tance. It  remains  to  state  what  are  unjust  discrimi- 
nations. 

(1)  It  is  unjust  to  discriminate  between  persons  ;  that 
is,  to  charge  one  person  less  than  another  for  the  same 
service. 

(2)  It  is  unjust  to  discriminate  between  shippers  of 
different  quantities  of  the  same  article,  except  under  con- 
ditions which  enable  the  railroad  company  to  perform  the 
service  more  economically,  as,  for  instance,  between  a  car- 
load and  a  quantity  less  than  a  carload,  and  perhaps  when 
a  full  trainload  is  offered  as  a  single  shipment. 

(3)  It  is  an  unjust  discrimination  to  transport  com- 
petitive freight  at  less  than  would  be  charged  for  local 
freight  under  the  same  conditions  of  quantity  and  distance, 
if  the  competitive  rate  will  yield  no  profit  above  the  cost 
of  transportation. 

Taking  a  practical  view  of  the  subject,  it  would  seem 
that  the  charge  of  unjust  discrimination  is  generally  made 
with  reference  to  competitive  rates.  Communities  at 
non-competitive  points  complain  that  their  rates  to  and 
from  market  are  higher  than  for  a  longer  haul  at  com- 
petitive points.  This  cannot  be  prevented  unless  com- 
petition is  prohibited,  or  the  offending  company  is  for- 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  197 

bidden  to  compete.  As  above  stated,  it  is  not  unjust  that 
the  rate  between  competitive  points  should  be  less  than  for 
a  shorter  haul  on  non-competitive  business,  unless  such 
rate  is  below  the  cost  of  transportation.  How  can  com- 
petitive rates  be  maintained  above  the  cost  of  transporta- 
tion ?  The  answer  is,  by  combination  among  the  com- 
petitors. Whenever  public  opinion  and  the  respect  paid 
by  lawyers  to  precedents  will  permit  contracts  for  this  pur- 
pose to  be  legally  enforced,  instead  of  being  stigmatized 
as  unlawful,  rates  at  competitive  points  will  be  maintained 
at  figures  sufficiently  above  the  cost  of  the  service  to  add 
to  the  net  revenue  of  the  competing  companies  and  leave 
a  margin  for  relief  to  local  shippers.  As  matters  now 
stand,  the  local  shippers  on  the  trunk  lines  are  contribut- 
ing to  the  maintenance  of  a  wicked  war  of  rates  between 
western  markets  and  the  seaboard.  Conservative  railroad 
managers  have  sought  to  prevent  this  by  framing  agree- 
ments to  maintain  these  rates,  only  to  see  their  companies 
defrauded  by  unscrupulous  rivals  who  entered  into  these 
agreements  because  they  knew  they  could  be  violated  with 
impunity.  When  legislators  and  judges  require  men  who 
enter  knowingly  into  such  contracts  to  keep  them  as  in- 
violate as  they  are  required  to  keep  their  other  agreements, 
competitive  rates  will  be  maintained  upon  a  profitable  basis 
and  competitive  business  will  contribute  its  proper  quota 
to  the  net  revenue  of  railroad  companies.  Nor  need 
shippers  who  are  interested  in  competitive  business  fear 
that  if  such  contracts  are  legally  enforced  the  rates  will 
be  injuriously  high.  The  competition  between  different 
cities  engaged  in  shipping  the  same  products  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  prevent  this.  The  railroad  managers  specially 
interested  at  Cincinnati,  or  Chicago,  or  St.  Louis  will  see 
to  it  that  what  they  consider  their  own  legitimate  trade  is 
not  diverted  by  a  disparity  of  rates.  They  are  quite  as 
keen  observers  of  the  course  of  business  as  are  their  pa- 
trons, and  will  be  as  swift  to  mark  its  fluctuations.  Com- 
bination for  an  exorbitant  advance  of  rates  at  all  competi- 


196  AMERlCAiT   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

tive  points  is  impracticable.  The  two  great  interior  water 
routes,  the  one  by  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  and  the 
other  by  the  great  lakes  from  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  &c., 
will  always  regulate  this  matter,  in  connection  with  the 
coastwise  steamships  on  the  Atlantic,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  the  Pacific. 

The  legalization  of  contracts  intended  to  maintain  com- 
petitive rates  will  also  prevent  the  most  unjust  kind  of 
discrimination  that  can  exist — that  between  man  and  man. 

There  can  be  no  form  of  discrimination  more  repre- 
hensible than  that  by  which  one  shipper  from  the  same 
point  is  secretly  favored  at  the  expense  of  another  in  the 
same  line  of  business.  The  favored  one  can  be  made  rich 
by  the  same  process  that  makes  his  competitor  bankrupt ; 
and  that  is  just  what  is  done  through  that  unrestricted 
competition  which  railroad  managers  condemn.  The 
much  abused  pooling  system  is  an  attempt  to  obtain  rates 
upon  competitive  business  that  are  above  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation, and  until  some  better  device  is  offered  to  obtain 
the  same  end,  those  who  are  interested  in  legislation  to 
prevent  unjust  discrimination  should  not  permit  them- 
selves to  be  argued  into  opposition  to  pools.  To  those 
interested  in  maintaining  unrestricted  competition  no  ar- 
gument in  favor  of  pools  need  be  addressed,  for  upon  them 
it  would  have  no  effect.  What  they  want  are  rates  lower 
than  any  one  else  can  get,  even  though  they  may  be  below 
the  cost  of  the  service  rendered  ;  what  they  desire  is  not 
in  accord  with  the  interest  either  of  the  railroads  or  of  the 
public  in  general,  and  yet  the  "  pooling  system  "  has  its 
advantages  for  them  also,  for  it  does  away  with  the  per- 
nicious "  rebate  system,"  a  system  which  takes  the  making 
of  rates  away  from  railroad  managers  and  puts  the  power, 
not  in  the  hands  of  the  legislators,  but  of  speculators — 
men  who  make  their  profits,  not  from  buying  and  selling 
in  open  market,  but  out  of  rebates  secretly  paid  by  railroad 
managers,  and  virtually  at  the  expense  of  those  who  pay 
the  published  rates. 


MISCELLAKEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  199 

This  system  went  on  from  bad  to  worse,  centering  the 
business  of  competitive  points  in  fewer  hands,  drawing 
the  business  of  neighboring  stations  to  competitive  points, 
and  rendering  it  impracticable  for  a  man  with  a  small 
capital  to  establish  himself  in  business  under  such  dis- 
advantages. No  wonder  that  the  railroad  managers  them- 
selves revolted  against  this  condition  of  things.  They  no 
longer  controlled  their  own  business.  Under  the  threat 
of  losing  freights  they  were  forced  to  make  concessions 
which  they  knew  were  wrong.  They  were  annoyed  by 
applications  which  it  was  impolitic  to  refuse,  and  met  with 
suspicion  and  charges  of  treachery  from  the  very  men 
Avho  were  being  made  rich  by  rebates,  yet  feared  that 
some  one  else  might  be  getting  better  rates.  When  com- 
petition got  too  fierce  one  of  the  contending  parties  would 
call  a  truce,  and  peace  would  be  re-established  upon  a 
basis  of  higher  rates,  which  no  one  expected  to  use  for  any 
other  purpose  than  as  a  standard  by  which  to  measure 
rebates.  No  wonder  that  railroad  managers  accused  each 
other  of  fraud  and  deception.  Men  who  in  all  the  other 
relations  of  life  were  blameless  winked  at  falsehoods  and 
dallied  with  deception,  not  because  they  were  morally  de- 
based, but  actually  because  they  knew  not  the  way  out  of 
the  toils.  Specious  methods  of  maintaining  agreements, 
and  yet  breaking  them,  were  devised  to  meet  the  occasion. 
Secret  service  funds  were  placed  at  the  disposal  of  trusted 
agents,  not  to  be  accounted  for  ;  through  passage  tickets 
were  sold  to  favored  shippers,  never  to  be  paid  for  ;  and 
one  tissue  of  fraud  and  deception  was  woven  after  an- 
other until  the  web  became  so  fine  as  to  be  worthy  of  the 
father  of  lies  himself.  It  is  this  rebate  system,  with  its 
corrupting  influences,  that  Congress  is  expected  to  call 
back  to  life  by  threatening  pains  and  penalties  upon  the 
railroad  corporations  that  have  replaced  it  by  the  pooling 
system — a  system  which,  so  far  from  being  placed  under 
the  ban  of  the  law,  should  be  legalized.  The  public  calls 
for  legislation  against  rebates  as  loudly  as  for  legislation 


200  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MAKAGEMEKT. 

against  extortion  and  unjust  discrimination  ;  but  until 
human  nature  can  be  changed  by  law  rebates  will  be  paid 
in  one  way  or  another  where  unrestricted  competition 
exists.  Congress  should  seek  to  prevent  unrestricted  com- 
petition as  well  as  unjust  discrimination,  and  the  railroad 
companies  have  themselves  pointed  out  the  way.  If  the 
pooling  system  be  legalized — that  is,  if  a  party  to  a  con- 
tract to  maintain  rates  can  be  sued  for  damages  for 
violating  such  an  agreement — then  the  shippers  at  com- 
petitive points,  paying  only  just  and  reasonable  rates, 
freed  from  all  fear  of  discriminating  rebates,  will  find 
that  their  business  will  not  suffer  from  the  greed  of  cor- 
porations, but  will  prosper  under  rates  alike  for  all. 

JUST  AND  REASONABLE  RATES. 

The  Committee's  second  question  is  as  to  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  rates  now  charged  upon  local  and  through 
traffic  by  corporations  engaged  in  interstate  commerce. 

The  answer  to  this  question  depends  upon  the  meaning 
of  the  word  "  reasonableness."  Webster  defines  it  as 
"that  state  or  quality  of  a  thing  which  reason  supports 
or  justifies."  It  may,  therefore,  be  asked  whether  reason 
supports  or  justifies  the  rates  charged  on  local  and  through 
traffic.  As  to  through  or  competitive  traffic,  it  «nay  be 
said  that  reason  will  not  support  or  justify  competitive 
rates  which  are  not  equal  to  the  cost  of  the  service 
rendered,  nor  secret  rebates  to  a  large  shipper,  while  small 
shippers  are  made  to  pay  the  published  rates.  Whether 
it  be  reasonable  to  charge  local  shippers  higher  rates  than 
are  charged  upon  competitive  business  transported  longer 
distances  depends  upon  the  considerations  contained  in 
my  reply  to  the  first  question.  The  reasonableness  cf  local 
rates  depends  upon  considerations  of  a  different  character. 
As  stated  in  the  reply  to  question  No.  1,  the  local  traffic 
must  yield  sufficient  revenue  to  maintain  a  railroad,  ex- 
cept so  far  as  revenue  for  this  purpose  may  be  contributed 


.   MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  201 

by  competitive  traffic.  But  while  the  local  traffic  in  mass 
must  support  a  road,  a  certain  reasonable  relation  should 
of  course  be  preserved  in  making  rates  upon  the  various 
articles  offered  for  shipment.  That  this  ideal  state  of 
reasonableness  has  been  obtained  is  not  to  be  asserted. 
Indeed,  the  process  of  reasoning  by  which  rates  for  carriage 
were  originally  established  and  subsequently  developed 
cannot  be  accurately  traced.  Many  essential  facts  have 
been  allowed  to  lapse  unnoticed  into  oblivion.  The  com- 
mon carrier  by  land  was  originally  a  carter,  and  when 
his  occupation  was  shared  by  railroad  corporations,  their 
rates  were  naturally  based  upon  the  carters'  rates.  And 
as  railroads  came  to  compete  with  carriers  by  water  their 
rates  were  still  further  modified. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  what  is  called  local  or 
non-competitive  business,  though  not  subject  to  competi- 
tion by  other  railroads,  is  still  open  to  competition  by 
wagons  or  by  water  carriage.  Special  competition  may 
exist,  as  in  the  transportation  of  coal  by  canals,  which 
would  not  affect  the  transportation  by  rail  of  other  com- 
modities; but  as  a  general  thing  the  reasonableness  of  local 
rates  in  the  early  days  of  railroads  seems  to  have  been  ob- 
tained by  a  classification  of  articles,  as  wet  and  dry  barrels, 
boxes,  and  bales,  or  shipments  in  bulk.  The  advance  from 
such  a  state  of  things  to  the  modern  freight  classification, 
substantially  uniform  throughout  the  United  States,  is 
unquestionably  an  effort  to  adjust  the  rates  upon  articles 
varying  in  value,  bulk,  fragility,  &c.,  and  in  such  a  way  as 
to  distribute  the  contribution  of  each  shipment  to  the  sum 
total  of  local  revenue  equitably  among  them  all.  And  this 
is  "  a  quality  which  reason  supports  or  justifies,"  for  the 
charge  upon  a  shipment  is  made  up  of  two  elements — the 
class  in  which  the  article  is  placed,  and  the  rate  upon  that 
class.  It  is  much  easier  to  fix-the  relations  of  articles  by 
classes  than  the  relations  of  the  rates  which  should  be 
charged  upon  the  several  classes.  It  is  the  latter  con- 
sideration which  enters  chiefly  into  the  establishment  of 


202  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

the  amount  which  each  class  of  goods  must  contribute  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  railroad.  There  are  no  accurately 
defined  rules  for  determining  this  matter.  Kailroad 
logic  and  mathematics  have  not  reached  this  summit  of 
perfection.  We  have  inherited  the  rates  which  our  pre- 
decessors have  fixed  under  conditions  above  noted.  We 
have  modified  them  here  and  there  as  circumstances  seem 
to  require,  and  such  will  continue  to  be  the  process.  Our 
methods  will  improve  as  our  knowledge  increases.  The 
method  of  classification  now  in  use  may  undoubtedly  be 
considered  a  reasonable  one.  As  to  the  fixing  of  local 
rates,  there  is  but  little  method  about  it.  Railroad  man- 
agers are  much  divided  as  to  what  would  be  a  rational 
basis.  Of  course  such  a  basis  should  recognize  what  is 
termed  "  the  cost  of  transportation."  But  what  is  meant 
by  "  the  cost  of  transportation  "  ?  Ask  half  a  dozen  rail- 
road managers,  and  you  will  probably  receive  as  many  dif- 
ferent replies. 

I  will  repeat  that  the  local  traffic  must  pay  for  main- 
taining the  railroad,  assisted  as  far  as  may  be  by  com- 
petitive traffic.  But  what  constitutes  "  maintaining  a 
railroad "  ?  It  includes  the  cost  of  maintaining  the 
property  and  paying  the  men.  Somewhere  among  those 
expenditures  lie  concealed  the  items  Avhich  go  to  make  up 
that  desideratum,  "  the  cost  of  transportation."  One 
eminent  authority  arbitrarily  divides  the  total  expenditure 
ratably  between  passenger  mileage  and  freight  mileage, 
and  says  that  the  "  cost  of  transportation  "  is  so  much  per 
passenger  mile  and  so  much  per  freight  mile.  If  this 
assertion  could  pass  undisputed  our  task  would  indeed  be 
an  easy  one.  We  could  fix  a  reasonable  rate  of  profit  upon 
the  stockholder's  investment,  divide  that  out  per  passenger 
and  freight  mile,  and  any  schoolboy  could  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  "  just  and  reasonable  rates."  But  the  problem  can- 
not be  solved  in  that  way.  All  the  difficulties  which  have 
led  to  fixing  different  rates  for  different  distances  and  for 
different  articles  forbid  such  a  solution.     Another  eminent 


203 

authority  suggests  that  about  one  half  of  the  cost  of  main- 
taining and  operating  a  railroad  is  virtually  unaffected 
by  the  amount  of  business  done  ;  another  part  is  charge- 
able solely  to  passenger  or  freight  traffic  ;  certain  expenses 
are  greater  or  less,  varying  with  the  train  or  car  mileage, 
or  with  the  amount  of  freight  loaded  or  unloaded.  This 
is  in  the  right  way  to  a  correct  analysis  of  the  items  which 
enter  into  "  the  cost  of  transportation/'  and  some  very 
ingenious  and  greatly  involved  algebraical  formulae  have 
been  constructed  to  aid  in  arriving  at  a  solution.  I  think 
that  the  mathematicians  who  framed  them  have  never 
had  sufficient  confidence  in  their  own  work  to  apply  it 
practically  to  their  own  business.  The  men  who  are  exper- 
ienced in  such  matters,  who  are  alike  removed  from  fine- 
spun theories  and  from  blind  adherence  to  antiquated 
methods,  who,  in  short,  represent  what  may  be  called  the 
common  sense  of  railroad  management,  will  probably 
agree  that  the  reasonableness  of  local  freight  rates  should 
be  based  : 

(1)  Upon  their  providing  a  net  revenue  sufficient  to 
maintain  the  property  in  good  condition  and  leave  a  fair 
profit  to  stockholders.  The  passenger  traffic  must,  of 
course,  contribute  its  share  of  revenue,  and  competitive 
business  should  not  be  conducted  at  the  expense  of  local 
shippers. 

(2)  As  between  the  different  classes  of  local  business, 
due  regard  must  be  paid  to  keeping  certain  rates  at  or  be- 
low the  point  where  a  suitable  margin  of  profit  is  left  for 
the  shipper. 

For  instance,  on  each  road  there  are  certain  staple  ar- 
ticles, products  of  the  field,  the  forest,  the  mine,  &c.,  or 
manufactured  goods,  that  form  the  basis  upon  which  the 
prosperity  or  the  very  life  of  the  people  is  based.  The 
rates  upon  such  articles  must  not  be  more  than  they  can 
bear.  It  would  be  killing  the  goose  that  lays  the  golden 
egg.  It  is  from  the  margin  of  profit  remaining  to  the 
producer  that  he  is  to  pay  freight  on  the  supplies  which 


204  AMEHtCAK  hailway  makagemekt. 

he  purchases,  and  for  his  own  fare  when  he  travels.  As 
specially  applied  to  such  articles,  "the  cost  of  transporta- 
tion," that  is,  the  rate  below  which  the  railroad  company 
cannot  transport  them  without  positive  and  immediate 
loss,  can  be  approximately  ascertained.  It  is  for  the  rail- 
road management  to  observe  this  closely,  and  whenever 
circumstances  render  it  practicable  the  rates  on  such 
staples  should  be  varied  within  certain  limits  with  the 
margin  of  profit  to  the  consumer.  The  minimum  limit 
should  be  the  specific  cost  of  transportation,  that  is,  what 
the  corporation  would  save  by  not  transporting  that  par- 
ticular article  ;  the  maximum  should  be  the  full  local  rates 
ordinarily  charged  upon  it.  Theoretically,  the  reasonable 
rates  to  be  charged  upon  the  staple  products  of  a  country 
would  be  a  fixed  percentage  of  the  margin  of  profit  re- 
turned by  the  merchant  to  the  producer  ;  the  charges  of 
the  merchant  not  to  include  the  local  freight  charges,  and 
the  railroad  company  to  be  entitled,  in  any  event,  to  tlio 
specific  cost  of  transportation.  Practically,  it  is  somewhat 
in  this  way  that  rates  are  now  determined  where  they 
are  not  established  by  law,  for  the  carrier  knows  that  if 
such  rates  are  higher  than  the  business  will  bear  the 
business  will  languish  or  die  out.  There  are  also  certain 
articles  which,  under  certain  conditions,  it  might  be  rea- 
sonable to  transport  at  the  cost  of  transportation  in  order 
to  stimulate  production. 

The  Massachusetts  Eailroad  Commission  advised  the 
railroads  of  that  State  to  transport  coal  for  manufactures 
at  the  bare  cost  of  transportation.  They  feared  that  the 
cost  of  fuel  for  steam-power  would  divert  manufactures 
to  other  States  where  coal  was  cheaper.  Was  it  reason- 
able to  expect  this  of  the  railroad  companies  ?  Did  reason 
support  or  justify  this  discrimination  between  coal  for 
manufactures  and  coal  for  domestic  purposes  ?  The 
answers  to  these  questions  cannot  be  definitely  given  in 
our  present  state  of  knowledge  as  to  the  items  which  enter 
into  the  cost  of  transportation. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  205 

The  differences  of  opinion  between  shipper  and  carrier 
grew  out  of  the  want  of  information  on  this  very  subject. 
The  attention  of  experts  has  for  some  time  past  been  at- 
tracted to  it,  and,  as  the  facts  accumulate,  we  seem  to  be 
nearing  the  solution  of  the  problem.  For  the  present  the 
reasonableness  of  local  freight  rates  can  neither  be  as- 
serted nor  denied  except  under  unusual  circumstances  ; 
certainly  not  with  suihcient  confidence  for  the  conditions 
which  should  determine  it  to  be  defined  by  act  of  Congress. 


PUBLICITY  OF  RATES. 

Should  publicity  of  rates  be  required  by  law  ?  Should 
changes  of  rates  without  public  notice  be  prohibited  ? 
What  is  the  best  method  of  securing  uniformity  and  sta- 
bility of  rates.  These  are  the  three  queries  embodied  in 
the  third  question  of  the  committee. 

Publicity  of  rates  would  be  a  reasonable  requirement. 
It  is  customary  with  railroad  companies  not  only  to  fur- 
nish such  information  freely,  upon  application,  but  also 
to  print  and  distribute  gratuitously  their  local  tariff  sheets 
and  what  are  known  as  "  open  "  competitive  rates.  But 
they  do  not  give  equal  publicity  concerning  rebates  to 
favored  customers.  A  penalty  for  secret  rebating — a  legal 
enforcement  of  contracts  to  maintain  competitive  rates — 
would  probably  insure  all  the  publicity  that  could  be  de- 
sired. 

The  changing  of  rates  without  previous  notice  is  in- 
jurious to  shippers  in  general.  Those  who  had  been 
secretly  advised  of  an  intended  change  of  rates  upon  any 
important  article  would  have  an  unjust  advantage  over 
their  less  favored  rivals.  In  the  interest  of  shippers  and  of 
stockholders,  uniformity  and  stability  of  rates  are  greatly 
to  be  desired.  The  methods  of  securing  them  have  been 
considered  in  my  answers  to  the  first  and  second  questions. 


206  AMERICAiq-   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 


MAXIMUM  AND  MINIMUM  RATES. 

The  fourth  question  is  as  to  the  advisability  of  establish- 
ing a  system  of  maximum  and  minimum  rates.  Maximum 
rates  were  incorporated  into  some  of  our  earliest  railroad 
charters.  Competition  has  reduced  all  railroad  rates  far 
below  the  maximum  then  established.  At  no  time  do  they 
seem  to  have  served  any  useful  purpose.  If  maximum 
rates  were  re-established^  with  our  present  experience,  they 
would  be  just  as  unserviceable.  If  a  maximum  rate  of  1 
cent  per  ton  per  mile  were  fixed  for  the  interstate  commerce 
of  the  trunk  lines,  competition  with  water  routes  would 
prevent  them  from  demanding  it ;  yet  if  such  a  rate  were 
fixed  for  the  commerce  between  the  Southern  States  it 
would  perhaps  bankrupt  the  corporations  affected  by  it. 

Minimum  rates  might  be  of  some  effect  in  preventing  a 
reduction  below  the  cost  of  transportation,  if  punishment 
could  surely  and  swiftly  follow  an  infraction  of  the  law  ; 
but  the  difficulty  of  conviction  would  bring  the  law 
into  contempt,  and  those  who  conscientiously  observed  it 
would  be  the  principal  sufferers.  We  must  remember, 
too,  that  the  ingenuity  and  experience  of  man  has  been 
constantly  reducing  the  cost  of  transportation,  and  what 
would  have  been  considered  a  very  low  rate  some  years  ago 
would  leave  a  very  fair  profit  under  the  improved  methods 
now  in  use.  Although  the  rates  have  been  reduced  much 
faster  than  the  expense  of  operating  railroads,  and  the 
margin  between  them  is  now  proportionately  smaller  than 
ever  before,  still  no  one  can  truly  assert  that  the  utmost 
economy  practicable  in  railroad  management  has  been 
attained.  The  legal  enforcement  of  contracts  to  main- 
tain rates  will  be  of  far  more  protection  to  investors  and 
shippers  than  the  establishment  of  maximum  and  min- 
imum rates. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  207 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  INTERSTATE  TARIFFS. 

The  elements  of  cost,  the  conditions  of  business,  and 
the  other  factors  that  should  be  considered  in  fixing  inter- 
state tariffs,  have  been  incidentally  referred  to  in  the  re- 
plies to  the  previous  questions. 

The  conditions  which  distinguish  competitive  or 
through  traffic  from  that  which  is  local  or  not  competitive 
have  also  been  noted.  The  local  traffic,  freight  and  pas- 
senger, of  any  railroad  must  furnish  the  means  to  maintain 
and  operate  it.  If  there  be  any  other  traffic  which  may  be 
diverted  by  competition,  then  such  competitive  traffic  will 
also  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  road  to  the  extent 
that  the  receipts  from  such  service  exceed  the  cost  of  per- 
forming it.  The  expenses  ordinarily  incurred  in  oper- 
ating and  maintaining  a  road  bear  varying  relations  to 
the  work  performed  in  transporting  freight  and  passengers. 
They  may  accordingly  be  divided  into  certain  classes,  as — 

Class  A. — Expenses  not  affected  by  the  amount  of  busi- 
ness done. 

Class  B. — Expenses  affected  indirectly  by  the  amount  of 
business  done  ;  for  instance,  by  a  considerable  increase  or 
decrease  of  traffic. 

Class  C. — Expenses  directly  affected  by  the  amount  of 
train  service. 

Class  D. — Expenses  directly  affected  by  the  amount  of 
car  service. 

Class  E. — Expenses  incurred  in  loading  and  unloading 
freight. 

Class  A,  or  fixed  expenditures. — In  this  class  may  be 
included  salaries  and  office  expenses  of  general  officers  ; 
legal  expenses  ;  rents,  taxes,  insurance  ;  maintenance  of 
earthworks  and  fences  ;  repairs  to  bridges  and  buildings  ; 
repairs  of  machinery,  tools,  and  implements  ;  furniture 


208  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

and  fixtures  ;  pay  of  bridge  watchmen  ;  and  telegraph 
expenses.  This  class  of  expenses  virtually  remains  the 
same  whether  the  business  done  be  much  or  little. 

Class  B. — Expenditures  remotely  affected  by  amount  of 
business  done  :  Stationery,  printing  and  advertising,  re- 
pairs of  wood  and  water  stations,  renewal  of  cross-ties, 
supplying  water  for  locomotives,  labor  on  track  ;  wages 
of  agents,  clerks,  watchmen,  and  switchmen  at  stations  ; 
loss  and  damage  claims. 

This  class  is  remotely  affected  by  the  amount  of  busi- 
ness done,  i.e.,  if  the  business  be  largely  increased  or 
diminished. 

Class  C. — Expenditures  affected  by  train  mileage  :  Ee- 
newal  of  rails  and  fastenings,  frogs,  and  switches  ;  repairs 
of  locomotives  ;  supjolies  for  locomotives  ;  pay  of  con- 
ductors, engineers,  baggagemen,  firemen,  and  brakemen  ; 
stock  killed  by  trains  ;  accidents  to  trains. 

Class  D. — Expenditures  affected  by  car  mileage  :  Main- 
tenance of  cars  ;  oil,  tallow,  and  waste  for  lubricating  car- 
axles  ;  hire  of  cars. 

Class  E. — Expenditures  affected  by  tonnage  :  Labor 
loading  and  unloading  freight. 

The  classification  here  given  is  in  sufficient  detail  to 
show  that  the  expenses  of  operating  a  railroad  do  not  vary 
directly  with  the  amount  of  traffic  ;  that  one  class  of  ex- 
penses bear  no  relation  to  it;  that  other  classes  depend  upon 
the  amount  of  service  performed  by  the  engine  or  cars, 
whether  they  are  earning  much  or  little,  and  that  but  a 
small  class  bears  a  direct  relation  to  the  tonnage.  It 
should  also  be  noted  that  much  of  this  expense  has  to  be 
incurred  in  preparation  for  business  that  may  prove  less 
than  expected,  and  that  expenses  cannot  be  diminished 
in  the  same  proportion  that  business  decreases. 

It  must  next  be  stated  that  the  business  of  a  railroad 
is  twofold  in  its  character  :  it  transports  passengers  as 
well  as  freight,  and  to  ascertain  the  cost  of  performing 
each  gej-vice;  the  operating  expenses  should  be  apportioned 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  209 

to  the  services  for  which  they  are  incurred.  Thio  cannot 
be  done  accurately  with  all  classes  of  expense,  and  the 
apportionment  must  to  some  extent  be  based  upon  the 
relative  volume  of  the  two  kinds  of  business. 

The  expenses  specially  incurred  for  passenger  business 
are  :  The  salaries  and  office  expenses  of  officials  employed 
solely  in  this  service  ;  also  of  conductors,  engineers,  and 
others  employed  only  on  passenger  trains  ;  the  mainte- 
nance of  passenger  stations  and  of  passenger  train  locomo- 
tives and  cars ;  fuel  for  locomotives  ;  advertising  and 
other  printing,  and  stationery  required  solely  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

The  expenses  specially  incurred  for  freight  business 
are  :  The  salaries  and  office  expenses  of  officials  so  em- 
ployed ;  pay  of  men  employed  on  freight  trains  and  at 
freight  stations  ;  maintenance  of  freight  stations  ;  main- 
tenance of  locomotives  and  cars  in  freight  service  ;  fuel 
for  freight-train  locomotives  ;  advertising  and  other  print- 
ing, and  stationery  required  solely  for  this  service.  All 
other  expenses,  not  specially  incurred  in  one  service  or  the 
other,  should  be  divided  between  them  upon  some  recog- 
nized basis,  and  that  of  the  respective  car  mileage  in  each 
service  will  answer  the  purpose. 

According  to  this  calculation  the  operating  expenses  of 
the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Eailway  for  the  year 
1884  have  been  classified  as  follows  : 

Per  Cent. 

For  fixed  expenditures.  Class  A 17 

For  expenses  indirectly  affected  by  amount  of  business 

done,  Class  B 32 

For  expenses  affected  by  train  mileage,  Class  C 22 

For  expenses  affected  by  car  mileage.  Class  D 21 

For  expenses  directly  affected  by  amount  of  freight 

handled,  Class  E 4 

For  renewals  of  rails 4 

Total 100 


210  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

Therefore,  any  increase  or  decrease  in  the  number  of 
tons  of  freight  transported  affects  only  4  per  cent,  of  the 
total  cost  of  operations,  unless  a  greater  or  less  number  of 
cars  be  required  to  run  a  greater  or  less  distance. 

Any  increase  or  decrease  in  car  mileage  affects  21  per 
cent,  of  the  total  operating  expenses. 

If  the  increase  of  business  requires  more  trains  to  be 
run,  then  22  per  cent,  of  the  expense  may  be  proportion- 
ately increased.  But  there  remains  53  per  cent,  of  the 
total  cost  of  operating  the  road,  that  practically  cannot 
be  decreased  with  a  diminishing  business  without  impair- 
ing the  efficiency  of  the  service,  and  that  need  not  be  in- 
creased when  additional  business  is  offered. 

It  is  usual  to  state  the  average  cost  for  hauling  one  ton 
of  freight  one  mile,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  trans- 
portation of  each  ton  has  cost  that  amount.  Here  it  is 
that  the  facts  are  obtained  in  fixing  the  specific  cost  of 
transportation  of  competitive  traffic.  If  freight  is  offered 
at  a  competing  point  that  can  be  carried  in  a  car  which 
would  otherwise  run  empty,  the  only  cost  incurred  is  for 
loading  and  unloading  the  freight ;  all  obtained  over  that 
cost  would  be  profit.  If  the  car  has  to  be  sent  for  the 
freight,  then  an  additional  cost  will  be  incurred  for  the 
distance  that  the  car  runs  to  perform  the  service.  If  the 
freight  offered  amounts  to  enough  to  load  the  train,  then 
there  is  the  cost  for  the  train  service  beyond  the  cost  which 
attaches  to  running  each  car  in  the  train. 

As  a  practical  illustration  of  the  use  that  can  be  made 
of  this  information  in  fixing  minimum  rates  on  competi- 
tive business,  let  us  suppose  cotton  to  be  offered  to  the 
Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Eailway  for  transportation 
from  Bainbridge  to  Savannah,  a  distance  of  237  miles. 

If  there  be  an  empty  car  at  Bainbrids:e  to  be  re- 
turned to  Savannah,  the  cost  will  be  for  load- 
ing and  unloading  30  bales  of  compressed  cot- 
ton, say  7J  tons  at  12.6  cents  per  ton. , $0.94J 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDEESSES,  ETC.  211 

If  a  car  had  to  be  sent  for  the  freight,  add  the 
distance  both  ways,  474  miles,  at  1.73  cents 
per  mile 8.20 


Total  cost  per  car  load $9.14J 

But  if  a  train  of  say  25  cars  be  required,  then  the 

cost  for  25  cars,  at  $9.14J  per  car,  would  be. .   $228. 62J 

And  for  train  mileage  (474  miles),  at  24.6  cents 

per  mile 116.60J 


Total  cost  per  train  of  25  cars $345.23 

Total  cost  per  car $13.80 

Total  cost  per  ton 1.84 

Or,  for  a  bale  of  cotton,  say .46 

The  example  here  given  illustrates  the  fact  that  busi- 
ness obtained  by  competition,  even  at  low  rates,  assists  to 
lighten  the  burden  of  those  who  must  pay  local  rates  ; 
also,  how  it  may  be  profitable  for  a  railroad  company  to 
offer  reduced  rates  for  shipments  with  which  cars  may 
be  returned  loaded  to  destination,  which  would  otherwise 
go  back  empty.  I  have  been  careful  to  state  that  this 
illustration  applies  only  to  the  specific  cost  of  transporta- 
tion of  competitive  freight  ;  that  is,  the  point  below  which 
such  freight  cannot  be  taken  except  at  the  expense  of  local 
shippers. 

With  local  business  the  conditions  are  different.  The 
local  freight  and  passenger  business  must  between  them 
maintain  a  road  which  has  no  other  resources.  Each  class 
of  business  should  bear  its  own  expenses  and  its  propor- 
tionate share  of  expenses  which  cannot  be  specifically 
divided.  If  the  revenue  of  a  road  be  obtained  70  per  cent, 
from  freight  and  30  per  cent,  from  passenger  business, 
then  these  joint  expenses  might  be  charged  proportion- 
ately to  each  class  of  business.     In  this  way  it  might  be 


212  AMERICAN"   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

determined  whether  the  net  revenue  of  a  road  was  obtained 
disproportionately  from  either  source  of  revenue,  and  the 
rates  be  readjusted  accordingly,  forbearing  to  unduly  ad- 
vance rates  on  staple  products. 

I  have  endeavored  to  indicate  in  a  general  way  the  ele- 
ments of  cost  and  the  conditions  of  business  that  should 
be  considered  in  fixing  interstate  tariffs,  according  as  the 
traffic  is  or  is  not  competitive.  I  assume  that  Congress 
would  not  attempt  to  evolve  a  general  interstate  tariff 
out  of  its  own  consciousness. 

My  whole  argument  has  tended  to  show: 

(1)  That  uniformity  of  classification  is  desirable;  how 
it  has  been  attained  and  may  be  modified  as  required  with- 
out legislation. 

(2)  That  uniformity  of  rates  is  not  desirable. 

(3)  That  just  and  reasonable  rates  on  competitive  busi- 
ness can  best  be  determined  by  contract  between  shipper 
and  carrier,  not  to  be  fixed  below  the  specific  cost  of  trans- 
portation. 

(4)  That  the  legal  enforcement  of  contracts  between 
railroad  companies  to  maintain  rates  is  the  best  method 
to  regulate  such  rates  in  the  interest  of  all  shippers, 
competitive  and  local,  of  all  stockholders  and  creditors  of 
railroad  corporations,  and  of  the  public. 

(5)  That  the  rights  of  local  shippers  do  not  call  for  any 
further  intervention  of  law  as  to  rates  on  competitive  busi- 
ness than  is  stated  in  the  above  proposition. 

(6)  That  the  local  business  of  a  railroad  must  maintain 
it  with  such  assistance  as  may  be  obtained  from  the  profits 
derived  from  competitive  traffic,  and  that  the  rates  on 
local  business  must  be  fixed  with  this  calculation  in  view. 

(7)  That  rates  on  local  staple  products  should  be  so 
fixed  as  not  to  depress  such  industries,  and  should  fluctuate 
within  certain  limits  with  the  variation  of  profits  derived 
from  them. 

(8)  That  certain  classes  of  discrimination  on  local  rates 
are  just  and  reasonable. 


.   MISCELLAN"EOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  21S 

(9)  That  intentional  discriminations  between  indi- 
viduals should  be  made  criminal  offenses. 

I  wish  that  it  were  practicable  to  give  specific  rules  for 
making  a  local  freight  tariff  out  and  out;  but  this  cannot 
be  done.  We  can  only  take  the  several  tariffs  as  they 
exist,  and  modify  them  here  and  there  as  the  intelligent 
application  of  facts  may  justify.  This  is  a  work  which 
cannot  be  done  either  by  act  of  Congress  or  by  a  com- 
mission; the  field  is  too  large  and  the  variety  of  conditions 
is  too  great.  The  modification  of  local  tariffs  had  best  be 
left  to  the  shipper  and  the  carrier,  to  the  influence  of  the 
press  and  to  public  opinion,  enlightened  continually,  as 
it  will  be,  by  the  elevation  of  these  railroad  questions  to 
prominence  among  the  issues  of  the  day  and  the  discus- 
sions that  will  thereby  be  occasioned.  From  local  busi' 
ness  the  principal  net  revenue  of  most  roads  must  come, 
and  the  main  issue  between  local  shippers  and  the  railroad 
managements  will  be  the  equitable  adjustment  of  rates 
among  the  local  shippers  themselves. 

The  principal  points  to  be  observed  in  a  tariff  for  com- 
petitive business  are  to  insure  a  uniform  rate  to  all  shippers 
similarly  situated,  which  shall  be  above  the  specific  cost 
of  transportation.  Under  this  head  of  specific  cost  should 
be  included  the  maintenance  of  all  structures  and  appli- 
ances rendered  necessary  by  this  very  competition,  such  as 
grain  elevators,  terminal  docks  and  yards,  the  third  and 
fourth  track  of  a  trunk  line,  and  perhaps  one  track  of  a 
double-track  road. 

I  have  not  included  the  expenditures  for  betterments 
among  the  items  entering  into  the  cost  of  transportation. 
They  should  properly  be  a  charge  to  capital  account,  and 
be  represented  by  bonds  or  stock.  Additions  to  property 
which  do  not  result  in  reduced  expenses  or  increased  busi- 
ness are  poor  investments,  and  the  money  so  spent  had 
better  been  divided  among  the  stockholders  if  taken  from 
net  revenue,  or  if  obtained  as  a  loan,  then  the  increase  in 


214  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

the  fixed  charges  must  diminish  dividends  or  prove  an 
additional  burden  to  local  traffic. 


REBATES   AND  DRAWBACKS. 

^^  Should  any  system  of  rebates  and  drawbacks  be  al- 
lowed ?  If  so,  should  such  transactions  be  regulated  by 
law  and  be  subject  to  official  inspection  or  approval,  or 
should  they  be  entirely  prohibited  ?  ^' 

The  replies  to  former  questions  present  my  views  upon 
secret  rebates,  but  cases  may  occur  where  rebates  could 
properly  be  allowed  under  suitable  provisions  for  publicity 
and  for  uniform  application.  The  suggestion  that  coal 
for  manufacturing  purposes  should  be  transported  at  or 
about  the  cost  of  performing  the  service,  as  made  by  the 
Massachusetts  Eailroad  Commission,  is  a  case  in  point.  If 
this  suggestion  were  to  be  put  in  practice  it  would  be 
difficult  to  determine  at  the  time  the  coal  was  transported 
which  shipment  was  for  manufacturing  purposes  and  which 
was  not ;  but  provisions  could  be  made  for  a  rebate  upon 
the  amount  that  a  manufacturer  could  show  had  really 
been  consumed  by  him  in  that  way.  The  system  of  cus- 
tom-house rebates  is  apparently  based  upon  similar  con- 
siderations. It  is  questionable  whether  Congress  should 
interfere  in  regulating  such  reasonable  rebates  or  in  sub- 
jecting such  transactions  to  official  inspection  and  ap- 
proval. Suitable  publicity  would,  in  the  case  above  noted, 
put  every  manufacturer  on  notice  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
rebate  and  the  conditions  under  which  it  would  be  given, 
and  if  any  one  consumer  of  coal  was  unduly  favored,  it 
would  virtually  be  a  fraud  upon  his  rival,  of  which  the 
courts  could  take  cognizance  through  a  civil  suit  for 
damages  against  the  offending  railroad  company. 


MISCELLAKEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  215 


POOLING  AGREEMENTS. 

The  seventh  question,  as  to  the  advisability  of  legal 
recognition  and  regulation  of  pooling  contracts  and  agree- 
ments, has  been  substantially  answered  in  my  replies  to 
the  questions  preceding  it.  I  have  no  doubt  as  to  the 
propriety  of  giving  legal  sanction  to  these  agreements  to 
such  an  extent  as  will  enable  one  of  the  parties  to  sue  the 
other  party  for  damages  growing  out  of  its  alleged  viola- 
tion. In  such  a  suit  the  terms  of  the  agreement,  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  it  was  made,  and  the  purpose  it 
was  intended  to  serve  would  all  be  exhibited  in  the  evi- 
dence and  the  arguments,  and  I  venture  to  say  that  two  or 
three  such  suits  carried  to  a  conclusion  would  serve  as 
powerful  correctives  of  the  evils  resulting  from  unre- 
stricted competition,  of  which  the  people  justly  complain. 
The  evidence  of  experts  which  would  be  given  in  such 
suits,  the  arguments  of  counsel,  and  the  opinion  of  the 
court,  analyzed  and  commented  upon  by  the  press,  as  they 
would  be,  would  aid  largely  in  bringing  the  public  to  an 
intelligent  comprehension  of  the  issues  between  the  ship- 
per and  carrier — issues  which  have  been  obscured  by 
parties  interested,  partly  from  design  and  partly  from  ig- 
norance. Beyond  such  legal  sanction  it  would,  in  my 
opinion,  be  inadvisable  to  go  in  the  direction  of  legislative 
regulation  and  approval  of  agreements  to  maintain  rates. 
At  all  events  it  would  do  no  harm  to  stop  just  there  until 
some  experience  had  been  obtained  as  to  the  effects  of  the 
experiment. 

ROUTING   FREIGHT   SHIPMENTS. 

The  right  of  shippers  to  select  the  lines  and  parts  of  lines 
over  which  their  shipments  should  be  transported  is  inde- 
feasible, and  should  not  be  restricted  by  legislation.  The 
argument  made  by  the  trunk  lines  favoring  its  restriction 


216  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

is  invalid.  It  is  a  confession  of  their  lack  of  confidence 
in  their  own  good  faith  toward  each  other  in  the  main- 
tenance of  agreements  to  maintain  rates,  and  furnishes  ad- 
ditional evidence  of  the  value  of  a  legal  recognition  of  such 
agreements.  If  the  trunk  lines  then  choose  to  embody 
in  their  contracts  among  themselves  a  condition  that  ship- 
ments should  be  diverted  at  their  pleasure,  the  courts 
could  determine  the  rights  of  an  objecting  shipper.  Until 
a  competent  court  decides  to  the  contrary  it  would  seem 
that  these  rights  already  subsist  in  the  shipper  without 
further  legislation.  If  the  shipper  be  willing  to  forego 
them  for  a  valuable  consideration,  e.g.,  a  reduced  rate, 
that  is  a  matter  for  a  contract  between  him  and  the  carrier. 

UNIFORM  RATES  AND  CLASSIFICATION. 

A  uniform  system  of  rates  for  interstate  transportation 
of  freight  and  passengers  is  not  to  be  desired,  and  the  need 
for  such  uniformity  is  not  obvious.  Uniformity  is  an 
obstacle  in  the  pathway  of  progress,  and  in  a  country  of 
varied  topographical  features  and  industrial  resources  the 
attempt  to  regulate  every  man's  business  with  the  same 
unit  of  measurement  would  be  a  bar  to  its  accelerated  pros- 
perity. It  would  be  as  well  to  require  both  corn  and  oil 
to  be  measured  by  the  gallon.  The  principles  upon  which 
a  system  of  rates  should  be  based  is  another  matter.  Such 
principles  should  be  as  capable  of  application  to  the  inter- 
state commerce  of  the  Pacific  slope  as  of  New  England, 
and  yet  the  manner  of  application  might  be  different.  As 
I  have  previously  stated,  there  are  two  elements  in  a 
freight  tariff — the  classification,  and  the  charge  for  each 
class.  The  classification  might  well  be  uniform  in  the 
main,  though  specially  varied  to  suit  local  conditions,  as 
for  coal  and  ore  in  a  mining  country,  or  for  lumber  in  a 
forest  region.  But  this  uniform  classification  should  not 
be  petrified  by  law,  for  then  it  would  soon  become  a  fossil 
indeed. 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  217 

The  experience  of  the  Southern  Eailroad  and  Steam- 
ship Association  shows  that  its  uniform  classification  has 
frequently  to  be  revised,  and  in  the  public  interest.  The 
Eate  Committee  of  that  Association  holds  frequent  meet- 
ings, at  which  the  applications  of  shippers  for  the  modifi' 
cation  of  the  existing  classification  are  considered  and 
acted  upon.  The  modifications  determined  upon  are 
specially  published  and  duly  incorporated  into  the  official 
tariff.  A  revised  addition  of  this  tariff  is  then  issued  by  the 
General  Commissioner  and  distributed  among  the  members 
of  the  Association.  How  could  legislation  better  secure  a 
uniform  system  of  rates  for  interstate  commerce  ?  Great 
attention  is  paid  to  the  classification  of  different  arti- 
cles. For  instance,  the  different  kinds  and  parts  of  plows 
are  classed  in  nine  ways,  ale  in  seven,  and  furniture  in 
thirty-six.  This  minuteness  of  detail  grows  out  of  the 
efforts  of  the  Association  to  conform  to  the  requirements 
of  trade,  and  yet  this  Association,  so  far  from  having  legal 
sanction,  is  seriously  threatened  with  penalties  as  an  un- 
lawful combination  conspiring  against  the  public  welfare. 

While  I  am  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  a  virtually  uni- 
form classification  is  practicable,  and  have  pointed  out 
the  way  to  secure  it,  1  am  as  clearly  of  the  opinion  that 
uniform  rates  are  not  only  undesirable,  but  also  imprac- 
ticable, for  the  reason  that  the  rates  essential  to  the  ex- 
istence of  a  railroad  in  one  part  of  the  United  States 
would  be  oppressive  to  shippers  elsewhere.  The  extent  to 
which  uniformity  in  the  charges  upon  each  class  is  prac- 
ticable, and  to  w^hich  discrimination  is  just  and  reasonable, 
I  have  already  discussed  at  length. 


218  AMERICAK   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMENT. 


LONG  AND  SHORT  HAUL. 

Should  a  proportionately  lower  rate  be  permitted  for  a 
long  haul  than  for  a  short  haul  ?  Only  in  competitive 
traffic,  for  the  reasons  and  under  the  considerations  I  have 
already  given. 

The  public  interest  requires  no  legislation  beyond  the 
experiment  of  legalizing  contracts  to  maintain  rates  upon 
competitive  traffic. 


CONCESSIONS  TO  LARGE  SHIPPERS. 

Concessions  in  rates  to  large  shippers  commend  them- 
selves to  minds  accustomed  to  advantages  claimed  by 
wholesale  dealers  in  their  commercial  transactions,  but 
the  conditions  surrounding  transportation  contracts  differ 
in  some  respects  from  those  of  bargain  and  sale.  The 
rights  of  third  parties  are  different  in  the  two  cases.  As 
between  buyer  and  seller,  the  larger  the  transaction  the 
less  is  the  proportionate  expense  attendant  upon  effecting 
the  sale,  and  the  more  eager  is  the  seller  even  at  a  small 
margin  of  profit.  He  would  rather  make  5  per  cent,  on  one 
transaction  of  $10,000  than  6  per  cent,  upon  each  of  ten 
transactions  involving  $1,000,  or  7  per  cent,  upon  one  hun- 
dred transactions  involving  $100  apiece  ;  and  this,  too, 
even  though  the  attendant  expenses  in  each  case  were  the 
same.  This  is  no  infringement  upon  the  rights  of  others, 
even  though  the  larger  buyer  has  consequent  advantage 
over  the  retail  dealer.  But  railroad  transportation  is 
another  matter.  The  expression  "  selling  transportation  " 
is  sometimes  used,  as  if  it  were  the  same  as  to  sell  coal  or 
corn;  but  this  is  a  mistake.  Eailroad  corporations  do 
not  sell  transportation.  They  have  been  granted  a 
franchise  to  collect  tolls.  A  privilege  has  become  vested 
in  them;  they  do  not  possess  a  natural  right.     A  railroad 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  219 

company  occupies  a  position  toward  the  public  different 
from  that  of  a  turnpike  company.  It  owns  both  the 
route  and  the  vehicle,  and  carriage  over  the  route  is  not 
an  occupation  free  to  all.  It  is  monopolized  by  the  owner 
of  the  route.  If  he  have  the  power  to  fix  the  price,  the 
person  desiring  the  service  performed  over  that  route  must 
pay  it  or  not  obtain  the  service.  This  is  true  if  the  service 
must  necessarily  be  performed  over  that  route,  but  if  there 
be  another  route  between  the  same  points  then  the  person 
desiring  the  carriage  may  exercise  his  option. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  we  are  met  by  the  distinction  be- 
tween that  traffic  which  is  competitive  and  that  which  is 
not.  If  there  be  alternate  routes,  then  the  relation  be- 
tween shipper  and  carrier  as  to  rates  of  carriage  is  largely 
a  matter  of  contract;  but  when  there  is  not  an  alternate 
route,  this  relation  is,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  more 
a  matter  of  status;  and  the  shipper  is  therefore  more  en- 
titled to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  law  in  defining  that  relation. 
But  he  stands  in  the  relation  of  a  third  party  to  contracts 
between  carriers  and  shippers  of  competitive  freight,  and 
the  State  ought  not  to  interfere  in  such  contracts  for  his 
benefit,  except  so  far  as  his  rights  may  therein  be  affected. 
It  is  not  right  to  add  anything  to  the  charges  upon  his 
shipments  to  offset  losses  upon  transporting  competitive 
freight,  and  his  rights  are  affected  by  any  competitive  rates 
which  are  below  the  specific  cost  of  transporting  the  arti- 
cles offered  for  shipment  to  rival  roads.  As  between  ship- 
ments of  competitive  freights  offered  in  different  quanti- 
ties, there  seems  to  be  no  necessity  for  legal  enactments 
beyond  requiring  suitable  publicity  of  the  conditions 
under  which  such  shipments  are  made.  A  civil  suit  for 
damages  would  probably  protect  any  shipper  suffering  by 
a  secret  departure  from  those  conditions  in  favor  of  a 
rival.  All  else  might  well  be  left  to  agreement  between 
the  shipper  and  carrier.  It  may  be  asserted  that  this 
would  be  discriminating  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the 
dealer  or  manufacturer  at  competitive  points,  and  against 


220  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MAKAGEMENT. 

the  dealer  or  manufacturer  at  points  where  there  is  no 
competition,  and  such  an  assertion  might  be  correct.  But 
how  does  this  discrimination  arise  ?  It  arises  from  differ- 
ence in  geographical  position  as  affecting  facility  of  trans- 
portation. Cities  with  safe  harbors,  convenient  of  access 
by  sea  and  at  the  mouths  of  navigable  rivers,  or  adjacent 
to  practicable  mountain  passes,  became  centers  of  trade 
in  prehistoric  times,  and  the  same  conditions  for  the 
facility  of  transportation  continue  to  concentrate  com- 
merce at  such  places.  With  the  invention  of  the  locomo- 
tive and  the  iron  rail  they  began  to  supplant  the  turnpike 
and  the  wagon;  they  were  first  used  where  they  were  most 
wanted,  where  the  greatest  traffic  already  existed — as,  for 
instance,  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia.  The  gradual  extension  of 
the  railway  systems  resulted  in  railroads  meeting  or 
crossing  each  other,  and  competitive  traffic  was  estab- 
lished at  such  junction  points  which  occasionally,  as  at 
Atlanta,  became  large  cities.  Eailroad  corporations  have 
not  originated  the  discrimination  in  favor  of  competitive 
traffic  and  against  local  traffic.  It  existed  before  they 
did,  and  the  economic  law  of  supply  and  demand  compelled 
them  to  recognize  it. 

But  as  between  local  shippers  the  case  is  different.  The 
railroad  company  ought  not  to  discriminate  between  them 
except  when  such  discrimination  can  be  shown  to  be  just 
and  reasonable.  As  I  have  already  shown,  it  is  just 
and  reasonable  to  discriminate  between  shipments  in  dif- 
ferent quantities  of  the  same  article  where,  by  reason  of 
the  increased  quantity,  the  specific  cost  of  the  transporta- 
tion is  proportionately  lessened.  It  is  generally  accepted 
that  this  is  true  of  carload  shipments;  it  is  probably  as 
true  of  trainload  shipments,  and  especially  when  business 
for  a  train  is  insured  for  a  considerable  period  of  time. 
There  are  more  likely  other  causes  in  which  such  discrim- 
ination might  justly  be  made.  It  may  be  laid  down  as  a 
general  rule  that,  as  between  local  shippers,  no  distinction 


MISCELLAiq-EOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  221 

in  rates  for  quantity  should  be  made  unless  the  specific 
cost  of  transportation  be  proportionately  lessened. 

UNIFORM  SYSTEM  OF  ACCOUNTS. 

A  uniform  system  of  accounts  for  railroad  corporations 
Would  be,  to  my  mind,  as  undesirable  as  a  uniform  system 
of  rates,  and  for  the  same  reasons  :  first,  that  a  perfect 
system  of  railroad  accounts  has  not  yet  been  devised;  and 
next,  that  "  circumstances  alter  cases,"  and  the  elaborate 
system  which  is  required  for  setting  the  multifarious 
affairs  of  the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad  Company  properly 
before  its  stockholders,  if  applied  to  the  affairs  of  a  minor 
corporation,  would  be  like  a  giant's  armor  upon  a  dwarf. 
The  accounts  of  a  railroad  company  are  intended  primarily 
for  the  protection  and  information  of  its  stockholders, 
and  should  be  as  free  from  the  interference  of  any  one 
else  as  the  accounts  of  any  other  corporation  or  of  a  pri- 
vate individual.  If  the  rights  of  a  third  party  are  affected 
by  the  manner  in  which  they  are  kept,  there  are  ample 
precedents  for  having  them  produced  in  court  and  suit- 
ably explained.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  in- 
terest of  persons  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  could  be 
affected  by  the  manner  in  which  the  accounts  of  corpora- 
tions are  kept  which  are  engaged  in  cuch  commerce,  and  it 
does  not  seem  necessary  for  their  protection  that  Congress 
should  require  such  corporations  to  adopt  a  uniform  sys- 
tem of  accounts. 


ANNUAL   REPORTS. 

Corporations  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  might  be 
well  required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Government. 
It  is  the  right  of  the  public,  stockholders,  creditors,  and 
shippers  to  be  informed  as  to  their  operations,  and  the 
publication  of  such  information  would  serve  to  correct 
erroneous  impressions  concerning  them. 


222  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

These  reports  should  only  contain  such  information  as 
the  public  might  rightfully  demand  as  stockholders,  cred- 
itors, and  shippers.  Nothing  should  be  conceded  to  idle 
curiosity  or  to  thirst  for  scientific  statistics.  The  one 
deserves  rebuke,  and  the  other  does  not  warrant  an  un- 
welcome intrusion  into  the  affairs  of  a  railroad  corporation 
any  more  than  into  the  affairs  of  a  private  citizen.  But 
such  information  as  the  public  may  rightfully  require  of 
a  railroad  corporation,  that  information  an  annual  report 
to  the  Government  should  contain,  within  certain  limits. 
The  limit  as  to  information  for  stockholders  would  seem  to 
be  fixed  by  the  right  of  minority  stockholders  to  obtain 
such  information.  A  majority  interest  could  obtain  any 
information  at  an  annual  meeting,  but  not  so  with 
the  minority.  The  latter  would  seem  to  be  entitled  to 
know  the  financial  condition  of  the  company  without 
resorting  to  a  court  of  equity,  and  therefore  such  informa- 
tion as  to  the  amount  respectively  of  the  various  issues  of 
bonds  and  stocks,  and  of  the  floating  debt,  the  income 
account,  and  the  assets  and  liabilities,  could  properly  be 
called  for  in  a  prescribed  form  so  simple  as  to  admit  of  no 
misconstruction.  The  creditors  of  the  company  would 
find  in  such  a  statement  all  the  information  which  they 
could  rightfully  require.  The  rights  of  shippers  pertain 
rather  to  statistical  information,  especially  as  to  tonnage, 
properly  classified  and  divided  as  competitive  or  other- 
wise, to  similar  information  as  to  passenger  business,  and 
to  such  classified  statements  of  expenditures  as  would 
throw  a  light  upon  the  cost  of  transportation.  None  of 
the  forms  required  by  the  State  commissions  give  this  in- 
formation in  proper  form  for  such  use,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware.  Some  of  them  go  into  a  good  deal  of  irrelevant 
detail,  and  some  stop  short  of  the  right  point. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  223 


WATER  ROUTES. 

The  development  and  maintenance  of  a  system  of  water 
routes  by  the  Government  as  a  security  for  cheap  trans- 
portation is  a  subject  of  grave  importance.  The  United 
States  has  been  for  many  years  committed  to  the  policy 
of  maintaining  and  improving  natural  waterways.  It  has 
been  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of  general  public  interest 
in  which  private  capital  could  not  be  profitably  invested, 
since  no  tolls  could  be  collected  from  the  traffic  over  such 
routes.  But  in  the  question  as  stated  in  the  committee's 
circular,  the  development  of  a  system  of  water  routes 
to  secure  cheap  transportation  seems  to  look  to  the  con- 
struction of  canals  intended  specially  for  competition  with 
the  railroad  systems  of  the  country — systems  controlled 
by  private  enterprise  which  have  reduced  the  charges  upon 
interstate  commerce  to  such  an  extent  that  the  Erie  Canal 
could  not  hold  its  own  in  the  contest.  That  great  water 
route,  constructed  at  the  expense  of  the  tax-payers  of  New 
York,  is  now  also  maintained  at  their  expense.  Would  it  be 
right  for  Congress  to  follow  this  example,  to  throw  the 
financial  strength  of  the  United  States  into  the  scales 
against  the  capital  of  individuals,  of  estates  of  widows  and 
orphans  invested  in  railroad  property  ?  The  contest  for 
competitive  traffic  between  the  subsidized  canal  and  the 
unprotected  railroad  to  which  it  is  parallel  will  be  fierce 
for  a  while,  but  the  issue  will  not  be  doubtful.  Shipments 
by  the  canal  will  not  have  to  pay  any  part  of  the  interest 
on  the  original  investment  in  its  construction,  nor  for 
maintaining  it.  They  will  only  have  to  contribute  to 
operating  and  maintaining  the  canal-boats.  Whatever 
the  rate  may  be  by  canal  that  will  be  the  rate  by  the  com- 
peting railroad,  unless  shippers  be  willing  to  pay  a  little 
higher  rate  for  greater  dispatch.  Whatever  that  rate  may 
be  it  is  not  supposable  that  there  will  be  any  considerable 
margin  above  the  specific  cost  of  transportation — that  is, 


324  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

that  it  will  contribute  anything  towards  the  general  main- 
tenance of  the  railroad  or  towards  the  interest  upon  the 
investment.  It  is  much  more  probable  that  the  rate  by 
the  highly  favored  canal  will  be  reduced  below  the  actual 
cost  incurred  by  the  railroad  for  transporting  such  com- 
petitive freight,  and  that  the  resulting  loss  will  be  made 
good  from  the  net  revenue  from  local  business  ;  and  resi- 
dents along  the  road  interested  in  local  business  will  not 
only  pay  higher  local  rates  in  order  to  maintain  this  com- 
petition, but  will  make  a  further  contribution  for  the 
benefit  of  their  fellow-citizens  to  the  extent  that  they  are 
indirectly  taxed  to  build  and  maintain  these  canals.  The 
alternative  is  for  the  railroad  companies  to  withdraw  from 
the  competition  and  leave  the  carriers  by  canal  to  fix  their 
own  rates  for  such  service.  It  is  possible  that  competition 
might  be  carried  to  such  an  extent  as  to  bankrupt  the 
railroad  corporations,  and  we  should  then  have  the  spec- 
tacle presented  to  us  of  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  being  employed  to  bankrupt  one  class 
of  citizens  for  the  benefit  of  another,  which  would  be  class 
lerislation  indeed.  When  we  consider  the  great  reduction 
in  the  rates  upon  competitive  traffic  which  has  been 
brought  about  by  the  railroad  corporations  of  this  country, 
it  would  seem  that  such  treatment  of  them  would  accord 
with  the  proverbial  ingratitude  of  republics. 

I  have  already  shown  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  Con- 
gress to  come  down  into  the  arena  of  competitive  traffic 
as  a  combatant  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  such  traffic 
against  unwarrantable  railroad  combinations.  The  geo- 
graphical features  of  our  great  country  render  this  un- 
necessary. 

On  the  one  hand,  there  is  the  great  chain  of  lakes  which 
feed  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  and  which  are  connected  by  the 
Erie  Canal  with  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  United 
States  ;  on  the  other,  the  Father  of  Waters,  reaching  out 
his  arms — the  Eed  Eiver,  the  Arkansas,  the  Missouri,  the 
Upper  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  the  Tennessee,  the  Cumber- 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  225 

land  River.  These  two  great  natural  water  routes  not  only- 
led  the  way  to  our  commercial  prosperity  while  railroads 
were  yet  unborn,  but  they  still  exist  to  protect  it  against 
the  combined  attacks  of  greedy  railroad  stockholders. 
There  are  other  natural  waterways,  which  in  a  lesser  de- 
gree serve  for  such  protection  for  interstate  commerce. 
The  Connecticut,  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware,  the  Potomac, 
the  Savannah,  the  Apalachicola,  the  Alabama,  on  the  At- 
lantic slope,  and  the  Columbia  on  the  Pacific  slope,  are 
instances  in  point  ;  and  "  pour'd  round  all,  old  ocean's 
gray  and  melancholy  waste "  unites  them  in  one  grand 
combination,  against  which  the  puny  opposition  of  railroad 
pools  shall  not  prevail. 


INTERSTATE  COMMERCE  LEGISLATION. 

The  thread  of  argument  which  has  run  through  my  re- 
plies to  the  previous  questions  indicates  my  views  as  to 
the  extent  to  which  interstate  commerce  should  be  regu- 
lated by  legislation.  The  fifteenth  and  last  question  asks 
how  such  legislation  could  best  be  enforced.  I  have  as- 
serted that  the  great  evil  is  the  reduction  of  the  charge 
upon  competitive  traffic  below  the  cost  of  performing  the 
service  ;  that  this  is  an  evil  not  only  to  the  competitive 
shippers,  by  reason  of  secret  rebates,  but  also  to  the  local 
shippers,  who  have  to  make  good  whatever  is  lost  to  the 
railroad  companies  through  unrestricted  competition  ; 
that  it  should  be  lawful  for  railroad  companies  to  restrict 
competition  by  agreement,  and  that  such  contracts  should 
be  enforced  as  other  lawful  contracts  are  enforced.  Where 
interstate  commerce  is  not  competitive,  unjust  discrimina- 
tion should  be  defined  in  a  simple  way,  and  such  legisla- 
tion as  may  be  necessary  for  this  purpose  should  include 
provisions  for  its  enforcement  in  the  courts. 

Legislation  within  the  limits  here  suggested  would  not 
require  the  establishment  of  a  commission  or  other  special 


226  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

tribunal  to  execute  it.  This  would  seem  to  be  a  merit 
rather  than  a  fault  in  law-making  of  a  confessedly  experi- 
mental or  tentative  character.  If,  after  sufficient  trial,  it 
should  not  accomplish  all  that  was  expected  of  it,  there 
would  be  no  false  step  to  retrace,  no  irretrievable  damage 
to  investments  through  blundering,  but  the  experience 
thus  acquired  at  small  expense  would  serve  to  indicate  the 
right  direction  and  extent  for  additional  legislation. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  227 


RAILED  AD  ACCIDENTS;  THEIR  CAUSES  AND 
THE  PRACTICABLE  SAFEGUARDS  AGAINST 
THEM. 

(Delivered  before  the  World's  Railway  Commerce  Congress,  held 
iu  Chicago,  111.,  Juue  19-23,  1893.) 

I  have  been  requested  to  prepare  for  the  Railway  Com- 
merce Congress  a  paper  upon  "  Railway  Accidents  ;  their 
Causes,  and  Practicable  Safeguards  against  them." 

In  seeking  the  causes  of  railway-train  accidents,  they 
may  be  variously  classified  as  between  those  for  which  the 
railway  corporations  may  properly  be  held  responsible  as 
due  to  defects  in  track,  in  equipment  or  in  regulations,  and 
those  for  which  they  should  not  be  held  responsible  be- 
cause beyond  their  control ;  as  when  proximately  caused 
by  obstructions,  by  malice,  by  negligence,  or  by  disobedi- 
ence of  orders. 

The  personal  injuries  resulting  from  train  accidents 
may  be  classified  as  affecting  passengers,  or  employees,  or 
trespassers,  or  persons  rightfully  on  the  railway  tracks  or 
grounds,  and  there  is  a  class  of  personal  injuries  by  trains 
which  cannot  be  included  in  railway-train  accidents,  as 
occurring  at  road  crossings,  or  where  employees  fall  from 
trains,  or  are  injured  in  coupling. 

In  the  discussion  of  practicable  safeguards  against  train 
accidents  something  should  be  determined  as  to  their 
relative  frequency  as  attributable  to  the  several  causes  to 
which  they  are  due. 

The  official  report  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission and  of  the  Massachusetts  Railroad  Commission 
refer  only  to  those  accidents  from  which  personal  injuries 
resulted.     The  Railroad  Gazette  has  for  many  years  pub- 


228  AMERICAi^-   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

lished  monthly  and  annual  statistics  of  train  accidents  in 
this  country,  grouped  as  to  their  character  and  cause. 

In  an  editorial  article  on  train  accidents  in  1892,  pub- 
lished in  February  last,  there  is  a  tabulated  statement  of 
this  kind  covering  the  past  twenty  years.  These  statistics 
are  necessarily  based  upon  insufficient  data,  mainly  from 
newspaper  items  ;  but  though  confessedly  incomplete,  this 
is  all  that  is  available  for  the  purpose.  In  this  statement 
the  accidents  are  compared  in  periods  of  five  years,  begin- 
ning with  1873  and  extending  to  1892,  giving  the  averages 
per  annum  in  each  period  ;  those  in  the  year  1892  being 
also  classified  separately.  The  classification  is  under  the 
three  general  heads  of  collisions,  derailments,  and  acci- 
dents neither  collisions  nor  derailments.  Then  these  gen- 
eral heads  have  been  subdivided  with  reference  to  the 
specific  causes  so  far  as  ascertained. 

From  these  statistics  I  have  prepared  two  tables,  as 
follows  : 

Table  A,  showing  the  percentage  of  each  class  of  ac- 
cidents to  the  total  number  per  annum  as  averaged  in 
each  period. 

Table  B,  showing,  first,  the  average  number  of  each  class 
of  accidents  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  millions  of 
revenue  train  miles  ;  second,  the  average  number  of  mil- 
lions of  revenue  train  miles  to  each  class  of  accidents. 

The  information  as  to  revenue  train  miles  has  only  been 
obtained  for  the  periods  1883  to  1887,  1888  to  1892,  and 
for  the  year  1892. 

An  examination  of  Table  A  presents  certain  results  as 
follows  : 

1st.  The  total  number  of  accidents  reported  upon  has 
doubled  during  the  total  period  under  consideration. 

2d.  Over  one-half  of  these  accidents  are  classified  as 
derailments. 

3d.  The  percentage  of  derailments  per  annum  de- 
creased from  67  per  cent,  of  the  total  in  the  first  period 
to  50  per  cent,  in  the  last. 


MiSCELLAKEOtJS  ADDRESSES,  ETC. 


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MISCELLAKEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  231 

4th.  The  percentage  of  collisions  per  annum  increased 
from  28  per  cent,  of  the  total  in  the  first  period  to  45  per 
cent,  in  the  last. 

5th.  The  percentage  of  accidents  that  were  neither 
collisions  nor  derailments  has  been  very  small. 

In  an  examination  of  Table  B  consideration  will  there- 
fore be  given  only  to  collisions  and  derailments.  This 
table  has  been  prepared  to  show  the  relative  probability 
of  the  occurrence  of  any  particular  kind  of  accident  in 
proportion  to  the  revenue  train  mileage.  This  can  only 
be  shown  for  two  periods  from  1883  to  1887  and  from 
1888  to  1892,  also  separately  for  1892. 

The  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  this  table  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

First.  The  liability  to  train  accidents  has  somewhat 
increased  with  increasing  train  mileage;  as,  for  instance, 
the  average  distance  run  for  each  accident  was 

For  the  period  1883-1887 416,666  miles 

For  the  period  1888-1893 370,370     " 

This  may  be  due  to  an  increasing  tendency  to  the  publi- 
cation of  such  matters,  and  consequently  to  a  greater 
number  proportionately  to  mileage  being  included  in 
the  published  statements,  but  so  far  as  these  are  reliable, 
they  bear  out  the  assertion  that  train  accidents  have  in- 
creased. This  does  not  warrant  the  inference  that  the 
number  of  personal  injuries  has  i*ncreased  relatively  to 
revenue  train  mileage,  a  matter  which  will  be  treated 
separately. 

Second.  The  increased  liability  to  accidents  has  been  to 
collisions  rather  than  to  derailments  ;  for  instance  : 

Period.  One  Collision  to  One  Derailment  to 

1883-1887 1,041,625  miles  812.113  miles 

1888-1892 763,358     ♦'  700,740    " 

Third.  With  reference  to  collisions  alone  they  are 
classified  as  to  frequency  as  follows  : 


232  AMERICAK  RAILWAY  MAKAaEMEKT. 

Character.  1883-87.  1888-92. 

Rear One  to   1,666,666  miles  1,694,515  miles 

Bulting    "     "   3,833,833    "  2,702,703     " 

Ciossiug  or  miscellaneous     "     "  16,666,666     "  3.708,703     " 

Total One  to  1,041,625  miles  812,113  miles 

The  proportion  of  rear  collisions  to  train  mileage  has 
remained  about  the  same  from  one  period  to  the  other. 
There  has  been  a  slight  increase  in  butting  collisions,  but 
the  great  increase  which  has  principally  affected  the  total 
result,  has  been  in  what  are  termed  "  crossing  or  miscel- 
laneous.'' 

Fourth.  With  reference  to  derailments  alone  they  are 
classified  as  to  frequency  as  follows  : 

Causp  1883—87  1888— Q2 

Defects  of  road One  to  2,941.173  miles  4  347,821  miles 

Defects  of  equipment "     "5,263,157     "  4,545,454     " 

Negligence  in  operating.     "      "  5,263,157     "  6,250,000     " 

Unforeseen  obstructions.     "      *'  3,703,703     '  4,000,000      ' 

Unexplained "      "  3,125  000     •'  2,040,816     " 

Total Oueto     763,358  miles  740,740  miles 

The  discussion  of  the  causes  of  derailment  is  made  less 
valuable  because  in  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  accidents 
reported  the  cause  is  not  given.  Eeferring  alone  to  those 
for  which  the  cause  is  given,  the  relative  frequency  in  pro- 
portion to  train  mileage  has  increased  in  those  due  to  de- 
fects of  equipment  and  had  decreased  in  those  due  to  de- 
fects of  roads,  to  negligence  in  operating  and  to  unforeseen 
obstructions. 

With  this  general  statement  of  facts  and  conclusions 
we  must  endeavor  to  discuss  the  practicability  of  remedies, 
beginning  with  collisions,  classified  as  rear,  butting  and 
crossing  or  miscellaneous.  In  doing  this  it  is  necessary 
to  get  down  to  particulars,  for  which  I  will  confine  my- 
self to  the  statement  for  1892  as  given  in  the  Railroad  Ga- 
zette for  each  month  separately. 

In  the  year  1892  the  number  of  collisions  reported  is 
as  follows  : 


Number 

Per  Cent 

Particularized. 

of  Total. 

230 

45 

220 

68 

64 

27 

MISCELLAKEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  233 

Number.  Per  cent  of  Total. 

Rear 502  47 

Butting 323  30 

Crossing  and  miscellaneous 238  23 

Total 1063 

Of  these  collisions  some  particulars  are  given  as  follows  : 


Total. 

Rear 502 

Butting 323 

Crossing  and  miscellaneous    238 

1063  514  48 

Taking  the  rear  collisions  by  themselves  as  particular- 
ized, the  rear  train  and  the  forward  train  in  each  can  be 
classified  as  follows  : 

Rear  Train.    Forward  Train. 

•    Passenger  train 68  39 

Freight  train 109  112 

Freight  train  parted 35  27 

Cars  not  in  a  train 2  31 

Engines  not  in  train 7  9 

Miscellaneous 9  13 

In  about  one-half  of  these  instances  it  was  a  freight 
train  that  either  ran  into  the  forward  train  or  was  run  into. 
This  is  not  surprising  since  there  are  so  many  more  freight 
trains  than  passenger  trains.  Indeed  the  large  proportion 
of  passenger  trains  involved  in  rear  collisions  as  compared 
with  freight  trains  is  more  a  matter  of  surprise,  though 
this  is  to  some  extent  accounted  for  by  the  greater  proba- 
bility that  a  passenger  train  collision  would  become  a  mat- 
ter of  notoriety  and  get  into  the  newspapers.  But  in  these 
reported  cases  the  passenger  train  has  been  the  rear  train 
nearly  twice  as  often  as  the  forward  train,  which  can  be 
accounted  for  by  its  greater  speed  as  tending  to  make  it 
both  more  difficult  to  prevent  a  rear  collision  when  the 
passenger  train  was  following,  and  more  easy  for  the  for- 


234  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAl^AGEMEKT. 

ward  train  to  escape  from  impending  collision  when  the 
passenger  train  was  ahead. 

In  cases  where  a  freight  train  parted,  a  collision  between 
the  two  parts  appears  in  this  statement  as  both  the  rear 
and  the  forward  t'  ains.  In  some  cases  the  rear  portion  of  a 
parted  train  appears  as  the  forward  train  where  it  has 
been  run  into  by  a  following  train,  and  in  a  few  instances 
as  the  rear  train  where  it  has  rolled  back  down  a  grade 
and  into  the  rear  of  another  train. 

The  number  of  collisions  with  loose  cars  not  part  of  a 
train  is  greater  than  was  to  be  expected.  This  is  largely 
due  to  misplaced  switches  leading  an  approaching  train 
into  a  siding  occupied  by  cars,  though  in  some  instances 
the  cars  were  started  out  of  the  sidings  and  ran  down 
grade  into  a  train  on  the  main  line. 

These  rear  collisions  may  be  differently  classified  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  place  at  which  they  occurred,  as  for 
instance  : 

Between  stations 86 

At  stations 77 

Traill  parted 27 

Misplaced  switch 25 

Not  stated  15 

Total 230 

With  this  information  as  to  the  circumstances  under 
which  these  rear  collisions  took  place,  reference  ma}'^  be 
made  to  the  proper  remedies,  or  rather  preventives. 

Defects  in  drawgear  are  accountable  for  the  27  cases  in 
which  trains  parted,  and  negligence  of  employees  for  the 
25  cases  in  which  a  collision  was  due  to  a  misplaced  switch. 
This  leaves  163  collisions  nearly  equally  divided  as  to  the 
place  of  occurrence,  whether  at  stations  or  between 
stations. 

As  a  general  proposition  two  trains  proceeding  in  the 
same  direction  should  be  separated  by  an  interval  of  space 
sufficient  for  the  following  train  to  be  stopped  at  any  time 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  235 

within  that  interval.  To  accomplish  this  the  engineer 
of  the  following  train  must  be  informed  whenever  the  limit 
of  that  interval  is  being  encroached  upon. 

The  extent  of  this  interval  of  safety  must  vary  with  the 
speed  of  the  rear  train,  the  gradient  of  the  track  and  tho 
efficiency  of  the  appliances  provided  for  bringing  the  train 
to  a  state  of  rest — for  example,  as  between  a  light  train, 
equipped  with  air-brakes  proceeding  slowly  up  a  one  per 
cent,  grade,  and  a  heavy  train,  equipped  with  hand-brakes 
proceeding  rapidly  down  the  same  grade.  Conditions  of 
weather  tending  to  obscure  the  range  of  vision  or  to  lessen 
the  adhesion  of  wheels  to  the  track  or  of  brakes  to  the 
wheels  may  also  serve  to  extend  the  interval  of  safety. 

When  the  prevailing  conditions  extend  the  limit  of  this 
interval  beyond  the  range  of  vision  of  the  engineer 
of  the  following  train  it  must  be  preserved  in  other  ways. 
The  Standard  Code  of  Train  Eules  adopted  by  the  Ameri- 
can Eailway  Association  recognizes  but  two  :  the  block 
system,  and  the  flagman  of  the  preceding  train. 

In  degree  of  efficiency  these  two  ways  are  about  as  far 
apart  as  the  poles  of  the  earth  ;  one  being  the  latest  ex- 
pression of  human  ingenuity  as  applied  to  railroad  prac- 
tice ;  the  other  a  makeshift,  the  inefficiency  of  which  is 
in  proportion  to  the  indolence  or  stupidity  of  the  flagman. 
The  absolute  block  system,  rigidly  applied,  will  absolutely 
preserve  a  stated  interval  between  following  trains,  but 
the  great  cost  of  its  construction  and  maintenance  pre- 
cludes its  use  on  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  railroad 
mileage  in  this  country.  Where  this  consideration  pre- 
vents, reliance  is  placed  upon  the  watchfulness  of  the  flag- 
man, who  is  expected,  when  in  his  judgment  it  becomes 
his  duty  to  secure  this  interval  of  safety,  to  leap  from  the 
rear  of  the  moving  train,  and,  armed  with  red  lantern  and 
torpedoes,  to  plunge  boldly  into  the  darkness  of  night,  per- 
haps facing  rain,  snow  or  sleet,  hastening  toward  the  head- 
light of  the  following  train  which  glares  at  him  as  he 
feels  for  his  footing  on  the  cross-ties  upon 


S36  AMERlCAK  RAILWAY  MaKAGeMEKT. 

bridge  or  long  trestle.  At  length  he  reaches  the  prescribed 
distance  of  twenty-six  telegraph  poles  or  about  one  mile, 
plants  his  torpedoes  and  listens  with  eager  ear  for  the 
signal  of  recall.  If,  through  haste  to  depart  or  inadvert- 
ence, the  signal  is  not  given  and  his  train  moves  off  with- 
out him,  that  flagman  may  pass  the  night  in  solitude,  per- 
haps wet,  cold  and  hungry,  or  until  some  train  stops  at 
his  signal  and  picks  him  up.  Such  are  the  duties  required 
of  a  flagman,  and  it  takes  pluck  and  endurance  to  fulfil 
them. 

It  also  takes  intelligent  judgment  to  determine  promptly 
under  the  four  rules  for  flagmen,  making  sixty-eight  lines 
of  the  Standard  Code,  just  when  a  flagman  must  go  back, 
how  far  he  must  go,  and  what  he  must  do  when  he  gets 
there  ;  yet  this  important  service  is  generally  entrusted  to 
a  novice,  to  an  apprentice  in  training  for  promotion  to 
a  conductor's  place  or  to  some  sturdy  brakeman,  accus- 
tomed, it  is  true,  to  the  hardships  of  train  service,  but 
also  to  successfully  evading  them.  Either  through  ig- 
norance or  doubt  or  fear  of  being  left,  the  flagman  may 
linger  around  the  rear  of  a  train  until  it  is  too  late  for 
him  to  stop  a  following  train  or  he  may  disappear  in  the 
darkness  or  just  around  a  curve  near  enough  to  be  handy 
when  recalled,  taking  the  chances  as  to  whether  a  train 
is  following  or  not. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  a  majority  of  the  rear  collisions 
between  stations  are  due  to  a  failure  of  the  flagman  to 
comply  with  the  rules  prescribed  by  the  Standard  Code 
for  his  guidance.  Here  is  the  principal  cause  of  rear  col- 
lisions, and  here  a  remedy  should  be  applied  by  relying 
less  upon  the  intelligent  and  willing  discharge  of  the  duties 
thus  placed  upon  the  flagman.  The  most  intelligent  and 
most  experienced  man  in  the  train  crew  should  be  the  en- 
gineer ;  the  best  acquainted  with  the  curves,  grades, 
bridges,  cuts,  embankments  and  other  physical  character- 
istics of  the  road  ;  the  best  informed  as  to  the  trains 
passed  and  to  be  passed  ;  and  when  a  stop  is  made,  or  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  237 

train  slows  down  at  an  unusual  place,  he  knows  the  cause 
and  the  probable  detention,  not  only  after  it  occurs  but 
also  before,  and  can  often  select  the  safest  place  for  a  stop. 
It  is  he,  then,  not  the  flagman  or  conductor,  who  should 
determine  when  the  rear  of  his  train  is  to  be  protected, 
and  the  flagman  should  act  promptly  when  the  signal  is 
given  to  him,  but  not  before,  except  in  emergencies  that 
can  readily  be  suggested.  If  the  burden  be  plainly  put 
upon  the  engineer  to  determine,  and  upon  the  flagman  to 
act,  the  action  of  the  latter  would  be  controlled  by  the 
most  intelligent  and  best  informed  man  of  the  train  crew. 

More  extended  recognition  should  be  given  to  the  use 
of  the  time  fusee.  Its  use  at  night  should  be  obligatory 
not  only  by  the  flagman,  but  also  by  the  engineer.  When- 
ever he  is  about  to  stop  or  slow  down  his  train  at  an  un- 
usual place,  he  should  drop  a  lighted  ten-minute  fusee 
on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  track  on  which  the  train  is 
running,  one  mile  before  the  stop  is  made,  and  an  interval 
of  ten  minutes  ahead  of  the  following  train  is  at  once  se- 
cured by  a  sentinel  that  will  not  desert  its  post,  by  a  sig- 
nal whose  unmistakable  light  will  illumine  its  surround- 
ings, let  the  wind  blow  and  the  rain  fall  as  they  may. 
Such  a  use  of  the  fusee  will  not  do  away  with  the  pro- 
tection afforded  by  the  flagman,  but  rather  increase  it,  for 
as  he  crosses  a  bridge  on  his  way  to  the  rear  he  will  feel 
personally  safe  so  long  as  he  sees  that  purple  light  blazing 
between  him  and  the  approaching  train.  Even  in  the  day- 
time the  smoke  from  a  lighted  fusee  will  attract  the  at- 
tention of  a  following  train. 

The  adoption  of  these  suggestions  will  measurably  re- 
duce the  number  of  rear  collisions,  but  the  true  preventa- 
tive is  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  space  interval  ; 
for  any  method  of  time  intervals  between  following  trains 
can  afford  efficient  protection  only  so  long  as  the  trains 
maintain  a  uniform  schedule  speed,  can  be  readily 
stopped  within  the  recognized  interval  and  are  not  liable 
to  unexpected  delays  between  signal  stations.     A  heavy 


238  AMERICAi;   RAILWAY   MAISTAGEMEKT. 

freight  traffic  cannot  be  satisfactorily  conducted  "iinder 
such  a  system^  yet  this  was  the  best  method  available  until 
it  became  possible  to  establish  an  interval  of  space  by 
means  of  the  electric  telegraph.  The  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  so-called  "  block  "  system  is  that  the  engineer 
of  a  train  approaching  a  station  at  the  end  of  a  block 
shall  be  informed  as  to  whether  there  is  or  is  not  a  train 
between  that  station  and  the  one  next  in  advance.  The 
interval  of  safety  is  thus  provided,  but  the  exigencies  of 
traffic  have  induced  what  is  known  as  the  *'  permissive  ^' 
as  compared  with  the  "  absolute  "  block  system,  that  is, 
the  permission  for  a  following  train  to  enter  a  block  with 
the  knowledge  that  it  is  not  clear.  This  system  requires 
that  the  rear  of  the  first  train  in  a  block  must  be  protected 
by  a  flagman,  with  all  the  vicious  consequences  already 
referred  to  ;  and  where  the  permissive  block  system  is  al- 
lowed there  should  be  no  dependence  placed  upon  flagmen. 
When  a  following  train  enters  a  block  which  is  not  clear 
the  responsibility  should  rest  upon  the  engineer  of  the 
following  train  alone  to  prevent  a  collision.  He  knows 
that  there  is  a  train  in  the  block.  Let  him  then  proceed 
with  such  caution  as  to  have  his  train  under  proper  control. 

But  even  the  absolute  block  system  is  defective  as  a 
protection  asrainst  rear  collisions  until  the  element  of 
human  fallibility  has  been  eliminated. 

The  effort  to  eliminate  human  agency  bes^ins  with  the 
manipulation  of  the  signal  at  the  entrance  of  the  block. 
If  this  sio-nal  is  under  the  confT-ol  of  the  oneritor  at  the 
outlet  of  the  block  there  is  one  mind  less  to  make  a  mistake, 
and  this  is  sought  to  be  accomplished  by  the  '^  manual  con- 
trolled "  system.  But  we  have  also  to  guard  asrainst  tli<^ 
mistake  of  the  operator  at  the  outlet  of  the  block.  This 
man  has  to  determine  that  the  block  is  or  is  not  clear,  and 
then  to  control  accordingly  the  display  of  the  signal  at 
the  entrance.  He  must  not  only  know  that  an  engine 
has  passed  out  of  the  block,  but  that  every  car  of  its  train 
has  also  passed  out.     Even  if  he  be  correctly  informed  that 


MISCELLAKEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  239 

the  block  is  clear,  there  mnst  also  be  a  certainty  that  the 
signal  at  the  entrance  has  been  properly  displayed.  Yet 
another  improvement  would  be  attained  by  eliminating  the 
intervention  of  this  operator  also.  This  has  been  ex- 
perimentally accomplished  by  several  devices  actuated  by 
the  train,  simultaneously  operating  a  display  of  the  signals 
required  to  block  the  interval  which  it  is  entering  and  to 
clear  that  which  it  is  leaving.  Indeed  this  effect  can  now 
be  extended  to  the  next  block  behind  the  train  so  that  the 
engineer  of  a  following  train  may  thereby  be  informed 
not  only  as  to  the  condition  of  the  block  ahead  of  him, 
but  also  as  to  the  condition  of  the  block  ahead  of  that.  It 
is  also  practicable  to  provide  appliances  which  will  prevent 
the  signal  from  indicating  that  the  block  is  clear  so  long 
as  there  is  a  car  of  the  train  left  in  the  block,  an  inter- 
vening switch  misplaced  or  a  rail  in  the  track  loosened 
from  its  fastenings. 

Here  we  seem  to  have  reached  the  uttermost  limits  of 
the  resources  at  present  available  for  the  avoidance  of  rear 
collisions,  though  it  is  possible  to  go  a  step  further  and 
prevent  their  occurrence  through  the  misconduct  or 
neglect  of  the  engineer  of  a  following  train,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  appliances  connected  with  the  block  signals 
which  shall  strike  the  engine  gong,  or  blow  the  whistle, 
or  apply  the  brakes,  or  even  close  the  throttle-valve  on  the 
following  train,  but  these  appliances  have  not  yet  reached 
such  a  stage  of  efficiency  as  to  call  for  further  notice. 

To  recapitulate  what  has  been  stated,  the  general  adop- 
tion of  the  absolute  block  system  would  have  prevented 
nearly  every  rear  collision  that  took  place  between  stations 
in  1893.  But  on  perhaps  80  per  cent,  of  the  mileage  of  this 
country  the  principal  dependence  for  protection  against 
such  collisions  is  the  flagman.  Except  on  roads  with  very 
heavy  traffic,  the  establishment  of  the  absolute  block  sys- 
tem is  impracticable  because  of  the  increased  cost  of 
operation  consequent  upon  its  introduction.  On  such 
roads  the  flagman  must  still  be  relied  upon,  and  Lis  use- 


240  AMERICAN^   RAILWAY   MAN^AGEMENT. 

fulness  will  be  greatly  enhanced  if  he  be  put  directly  under 
the  engineer's  control  by  whistle  signal,  and  if  the  engineer 
be  required  to  rely  upon  the  fusee  to  preserve  the  interval 
of  safety  for  a  following  train. 

The  statistics  show  that  rear  collisions  take  place  about 
as  frequently  at  stations  as  between  stations.  Such  col- 
lisions generally  occur  from  the  crew  of  the  train  standing 
at  the  station  believing  that  the  engineer  of  the  following 
train  will  approach  cautiously,  expecting  the  track  at  the 
station  to  be  occupied,  while  in  fact  the  engineer  of  the 
following  train  approaches  the  station  fully  confident  that 
if  the  track  were  not  clear  the  flagman  would  be  out  a 
proper  distance.  Here  again  the  reliance  is  placed  on  the 
flagman  with  the  same  unfortunate  consequences.  The 
investigation  of  rear  collisions  at  stations,  or  where  the  for- 
ward train  was  standing  still,  will  show  that  in  most  of 
them  the  flagman  was  in  doubt  as  to  Avhether  he  should  go 
back  or  not.  Perhaps  the  engineer  had  only  stopped  for 
a  few  minutes  to  inspect  something  about  the  engine,  or  at 
a  water  station  where  every  man  on  the  road  ought  to 
know  that  trains  always  stop — or,  if  at  a  regular  station, 
then  the  train  did  not  stop  just  at  the  usual  place.  Theo- 
retically the  flagman  always  goes  back  the  prescribed  dis- 
tance whenever  the  train  stops.  In  practice  he  only  goes 
back  to  the  proper  distance  when  he  knows  that  a  train  is 
following,  or  that  he  will  have  plenty  of  time  to  get  back 
to  his  train,  or  that  some  official  of  the  road  has  his  private 
car  attached.  The  remedies  are  the  same  as  for  collisions 
between  stations  ;  either  the  absolute  block  system,  or  the 
engineer  made  responsible  for  signaling  the  flagman  back. 
The  variety  of  conditions  under  which  it  must  be  deter- 
mined whether  a  flagman  should  or  should  not  be  sent 
to  the  rear  can  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  circular  notice 
attached  to  this  paper. 

Another  fruitful  cause  of  rear  collisions  is  misplaced 
switches.  There  are  several  remedies  for  accidents  of  this 
kind,     In  yards  the  responsibility  for  a  rear   collision 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  241 

sliould  rest  with  the  engineer  of  a  following  train.  He 
should  "understand  that  he  will  receive  no  warning  by 
flagmen,  only  by  switch  signals,  and  should  always  enter 
and  pass  through  a  yard  with  his  train  under  such  control 
that  it  could  be  stopped  at  least  in  its  length.  This  should 
be  insisted  upon  unless  switching  is  forbidden  on  the  run- 
ning tracks  through  the  yards.  Switches  not  in  yards 
should  be  provided  with  counterweighted  switch  levers 
that  can  only  be  locked  on  the  main  line.  When  in  use,  a 
man  would  then  have  to  be  at  the  switch,  and  when  not  in 
use  the  counterweight  would  bring  the  switch  clear  of  the 
main  line.  AVhenever  a  counterweighted  switch  lever  is 
not  used,  a  distant  signal  should  be  connected  with  the 
switch. 

To  guard  against  cars  being  moved  out  of  a  siding  so 
far  as  to  foul  the  main  line,  a  derailing  device  should  be 
placed  at  the  clearance  post. 

Butting  collisions  are  about  as  frequent  as  rear  collisions, 
yet  they  are  much  easier  of  prevention.  No  two  trains, 
proceeding  in  opposite  directions  on  the  same  track,  should 
ever  meet  anywhere  except  at  a  siding.  If  the  Standard 
Code  is  strictly  followed  this  cannot  happen,  for  it  gives 
the  absolute  right  of  track  to  all  trains  in  one  direction. 
This  can  only  be  varied  by  special  telegraphic  orders,  and 
if  the  meeting  point  is  correctly  given  the  trains  must 
meet  at  that  point.  Where  the  Standard  Code  of  Train 
Rules  is  observed  a  butting  collision  cannot  occur  between 
stations,  except  through  the  carelessness  of  the  train  dis- 
patcher, or  of  the  train  crew. 

Butting  collisions  do  frequently  occur  at  stations  and 
from  the  same  causes  that  rear  collisions  occur  at  the  same 
places  ;  because  the  train  crew  at  the  station  expects  ap- 
proaching trains  to  be  under  control,  and  because  the  en- 
gineers of  approaching  trains  do  not  have  their  trains 
•Rnder  control.  The  remedies  are  the  same  for  the  one  class 
of  collisions  at  stations  as  for  the  other. 

A  crossing  collision  should  never  occur.     Either  a  cross- 


242  AMERICA]^"   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

ing  should  be  so  protected  by  signals  and  derailing 
switches  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  collision,  or  every 
train  should  come  to  an  absolute  stop,  with  the  engine 
standing  at  a  stop-post  fifty  feet  from  the  crossing.  In 
that  distance  a  dangerous  speed  cannot  be  attained  at  the 
crossing,  and  when  a  collision  does  occur  the  engineer 
whose  engine  struck  the  other  train  should  be  held  solely 
responsible. 

The  derailments  reported  in  1892  were  classified  as 
follows  : 

Per  Cent  of  Total 
Particularized. 

Defective  track 104  33 

Defective  equipment 63  20 

Unforeseen  obstructions  , 95  32 

Negligence  in  operating 49  15 

Total  particularized,  26  per  cent 311 

Unexplained,  74  per  cent 887 

Total  reported  1198 

Particulars  of  derailments  have  only  been  obtained  of 
about  one-fourth  of  the  cases  reported.  Of  those  p'^r- 
ticularized  about  one-third  each  has  been  caused  by  de- 
fective track  or  unforeseen  obstructions,  while  the  re- 
maining third  was  about  equally  divided  between  defective 
equipment  and  negligence  in  operating. 

The  reported  cases  due  to  defective  track  are  classified 
as  follows  : 

Broken  rail 35 

Defective  switches  or  frogs 21 

Kails  spreading 14 

Defective  bridge  or  trestles 12 

Bad  track 11 

Miscellaneous 11 

104 

Over  one-third  of  the  derailments  due  to  defective  track 
occurred  from  broken  rails.     In  the  majority  of  cases  a 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  243 

broken  rail  means  a  badly  worn  rail  or  one  of  a  section  too 
light  for  the  traffic. 

The  responsibility  for  a  derailment  from  rails  spreading 
or  from  bad  track  should  be  easily  placed  upon  the  proper 
shoulders^  and  derailments  from  defective  switches,  frogs, 
bridges  and  trestles  are  plainly  due  to  lack  of  inspection, 
as  also  in  most  of  the  cases  classed  as  miscellaneous. 

The  derailments  due  to  defective  equipment  were  137 
in  number,  of  which  particulars  are  given  of  63,  or  53  per 
cent,  divided  as  follows  : 

On  Locomotives.    On  Cars.  Total. 

Defective  wheels 4  17  21 

Defective  axles 1  10  11 

Defective  trucks 10  10 

Defective  drawgear 9  9 

Defective  brakegear 1  8  9 

Miscellaneous 1  2  3 

Total 7  56  63 

The  number  of  derailments  attributed  to  defective  lo- 
comotives as  compared  with  defective  cars  is  greatly  out 
of  proportion  to  the  number  of  each  in  service,  but  the 
total  of  the  cases  particularized  is  too  small  to  draw  any 
conclusions,  except  that  the  remedy  lies  in  closer  in- 
spection. 

The  derailments  due  to  negligence  in  operating  were 
163,  of  which  particulars  are  given  in  49  cases,  or  30  per 
cent.,  as  follows  : 

Carelessness  in  handling  switches 29 

Carelessness  in  handling  locomotives 14 

Carelessness  in  track  repairs 4 

Miscellaneous 2 

Total  ..   49 

The  switch  accidents,  as  already  mentioned  in  discussing 
collisions,  can  be  largely  reduced  by  the  use  of  a  counter- 
weighted  switch  lever,  which  will  prevent  switches  being 
carelessly  left  open  on  the  main  line. 


244  AMERICAN-   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

Two  derailments  of  passenger  trains  were  caused  by 
derailing  devices  at  crossings,  and  in  each  case  a  collision 
was  probably  averted. 

But  one  derailment  is  reported  from  an  open  draw- 
bridge. 

The  derailments  due  to  unforeseen  obstructions  were  165 
in  number,  in  which  the  particulars  are  given  in  95  cases, 
or  57  per  cent.,  as  follows  : 

Cattle 36 

Washouts 14 

Malicious  obstructions 13 

Landslides , 8 

Miscellaneous 24 

95 

The  principal  single  cause,  cattle  on  track,  could  be 
prevented  by  fencing.  In  the  majority  of  the  other  cases 
the  remedy  is  closer  inspection.  The  other  train  accidents, 
which  were  neither  collisions  nor  derailments,  were  95  in 
number,  of  which  particulars  were  given  in  42  cases,  or 
44  per  cent.,  as  follows  : 

Locomotive  explosions 18 

Other  accidents  to  locomotives 9 

Miscellaneous 15 

42 

Some  of  the  train  accidents  as  above  classified  were 
more  or  less  involved  either  as  a  cause  or  effect  with  bridges 
and  fires,  and  it  is  therefore  somewhat  interesting  to  treat 
of  them  as  so  related. 

In  21  cases  of  derailment  caused  by  condition  of  bridges 
the  particulars  are  as  follows  : 

Bridge  damaged  by  flood 8 

Bridge  damaged  by  fire 5 

Bridge  otherwise  defective 6 

Insufficient  bridge  signals 2 

Due  to  insufficient  inspection 21 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  245 

Injury  to  bridges  by  train  accidents  : 

By  deniilments. . . . ,  7 

By  collisious 5 

12 

In  seven  derailments  and  one  collision  the  trains  were 
thrown  off  a  bridge,  so  that  it  may  be  said  that  in  these  eight 
cases,  and  in  the  twelve  cases  of  injury  to  bridges  by  de- 
railment and  by  collision,  efficient  guard  rails  would  have 
prevented  the  resulting  damage. 

As  with  bridge  accidents  so  it  is  with  accidents  by  fire  : 
they  may  be  either  a  cause  or  an  effect. 

In  61  cases  of  fires  on  trains,  of  which  particulars  are 
given,  the  causes  were  as  follows  : 


Freight. 

Total. 

21 

26 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

3 

5 

1 

1 

11 

3 

4 

3 

3 

, . 

1 

Rear  collision — Engine  set  train  afire. ...     5 

•*         "  Caboose  stove 

"  "  Lamp  in  horse  car 

"  "  Lamp  in  baggage  car  ....     1 

Butting  collision — Engine  set  train  afire. .     2 

"  "  Stove  in  express  car. . .     1 

Crossing  collision— Stove  in  passenger  car     1 

Derailment — Stove  in  passenger  car 11 

"  Fire  from  engine 1 

"  Contents  of  freight  car 

Illuminating-gas    1 

Case  of  gasoline  dropped  from  preceding 

train 1  . .  1 

Total 24  33  57 

Set  on  fire  by  locomotive 8  22  35 

Set  on  fire  by  stoves 13  2  15 

Set  on  fire  by  lamps 1  1  2 

Miscellaneous 2  8  5 

Total 24  33  57 

The  remedy  against  fires  caused  by  locomotives  is  plainly 
to  reduce  the  number  of  collisions,  and  especially  of  rear 
collisions:  that  against  fire  caused  by  stoves  is  to  replace 
them  with  safer  heating  apparatus. 


246  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

In  general,  the  diminution  in  railway  accidents  must  be 
brought  about  by  increased  efficiency  in  appliances,  in 
regulations,  in  discipline  and  in  inspection. 

Under  the  head  of  appliances,  experience  shows  that 
rear  collisions  between  stations  can  be  greatly  diminished 
by  a  more  extended  use  of  the  block  system,  that  many 
collisions  are  caused  by  switches  left  wrong  which  could 
not  occur  with  counterweighted  switch  levers,  that  cars 
could  not  be  moved  out  of  sidings  if  prevented  by  derail- 
ing devices,  that  derailments  at  switches  could  be  pre- 
vented by  the  use  of  safety  switches,  that  guard  rails  on 
bridges  and  trestles  would  often  prevent  derailments  and 
the  consequent  injuries  to  trains  and  structures,  and  that 
steam-heating  apparatus  should  replace  stoves  in  passenger 
cars. 

As  to  efficient  regulations,  the  Standard  Code  of  Train 
Eules  of  the  American  Eailway  Association  is  the  result 
of  the  experience  of  those  best  qualified  to  frame  such  a 
code.  Its  general  adoption  has  done  much  to  bring  about 
a  uniformity  of  practice  throughout  the  country,  and  with 
it  to  reduce  the  possibility  of  accidents  due  to  trainmen 
changing  from  one  road  to  another.  As  already  suggested, 
it  would  be  an  improvement  for  the  engineer  of  a  train  to 
be  required  to  make  use  of  the  fusee  as  a  rear  protection, 
and  also  to  put  the  flagman  more  immediately  under  his 
direction. 

The  Association  code  of  rules  for  the  movement  of 
trains  by  telegraphic  orders  is  an  admirable  piece  of  work, 
and  has  been  even  more  generally  adopted  than  the  code  of 
train  rules.  Where  it  is  rigidly  enforced  a  butting  col- 
lision could  only  arise  from  the  carelessness  or  reckless- 
ness of  an  employee. 

There  is  need  for  similar  Standard  Codes  regulating  the 
conduct  of  employees  in  other  matters  incidental  to  the 
movement  and  handling  of  trains. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  fields  for  improving  the 
train  service  in  this  country  is  that  of  discipline.     The 


MISCELLAKEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  247 

lack  of  unquestioning  obedience  to  authority  and  of 
prompt  compliance  with  established  rules  is  at  the  bottom 
of  more  railway  accidents  than  every  other  cause  put  to- 
gether. This  is  rarely  shown  in  the  newspaper  accounts  ; 
indeed  it  is  only  ascertained  in  most  cases  by  a  thorough 
investigation  of  all  the  circumstances.  The  facts  as  to  the 
chances  taken  daily  by  reckless  or  indolent  or  careless  em- 
ployees in  flagrant  disregard  of  carefully  devised  regula- 
tions and  of  even  the  common  dictates  of  prudence  would, 
if  generally  known,  do  much  to  bring  about  an  improve- 
ment in  this  respect.  Public  opinion  would  then  hold 
employees  responsible  in  many  cases  of  accident  where 
now  there  is  a  senseless  or  unjust  abuse  of  corporations 
and  officials.  It  is  now  so  difficult  to  get  a  jury  to  look 
upon  the  infraction  of  a  train  rule  by  an  employee  as  a 
crime,  that  railroad  companies  content  themselves  with 
discharging  men  in  such  cases,  who  are  then  free  to  find 
employment  elsewhere  and  to  repeat  the  offense,  and  the 
attempt  to  keep  a  record  of  such  offenders  is  denounced 
as  odious  blacklisting.  Eailroad  managers  have  to  con- 
tend against  a  growing  resistance  to  restraint  and  reproof, 
and  a  disposition  to  oppose  the  interests  of  the  company 
in  matters  which  do  not  affect  the  personal  interest  of  em- 
ployees either  one  way  or  another,  thus  rendering  it  diffi- 
cult to  enforce  discipline  even  where  the  safety  of  life  and 
property  are  involved.  Their  efforts  need  to  be  reinforced 
by  public  opinion,  by  the  press  and  by  the  courts,  for  strict 
discipline  and  prompt  obedience  to  orders  under  the  con- 
ditions of  exposure  to  weather,  to  danger,  and  even  to 
death,  are  as  necessary  and  as  meritorious  in  railroad  ser- 
vice as  in  military  service. 

In  this  connection  railroad  managements  are  themselves 
open  to  censure  for  inefficient  supervision  of  train  service. 
They  have  the  lesson  to  learn  which  centuries  of  exper- 
ience have  taught  to  the  creators  and  leaders  of  military 
organizations — that  it  is  one  thin^  to  give  an  order,  and 
another  thing  to  see  that  it  is  enforced.     Close  inspection 


248  AMERICAN^   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

insures  efficiency  of  appliances  or  regulations  and  of  dis- 
cipline, and  this  is  greatly  lacking  even  on  the  best  rail- 
road systems  in  this  country.  Money  expended  in  salaries 
for  men  to  do  nothing  else  but  see  that  rules  are  observed 
is  looked  upon  as  wasted.  What  is  wanted  is,  not  spies 
nor  detectives,  but  a  staff  of  inspectors  reporting  directly 
to  the  general  manager  outside  of  any  department  officials. 
This  is  what  is  done  in  armies,  and  the  positions  are  held 
in  honor  and  filled  by  the  best  men  on  the  general's  staff. 
With  such  a  system  of  inspection,  the  management  does 
not  have  to  wait  for  a  bridge  to  fall  down  to  learn  that  it 
was  rotten,  or  for  a  score  of  lives  to  be  lost  in  an  accident 
to  know  that  train  rules  were  habitually  disregarded. 

As  stated  in  the  beginning  of  this  paper,  the  personal 
injuries  arising  from  railway  accidents  have  attracted  the 
attention  of  State  Railway  Commissions  rather  than  the 
causes  of  such  accidents,  and  some  reference  may  there- 
fore be  made  to  this  aspect  of  the  subject. 

The  classes  of  persons  suffering  injuries  from  railway 
accidents  are  passengers,  employees  and  trespassers,  as 
well  as  a  fourth  class  of  persons  that  cannot  properly  be 
included  under  either  of  these  heads.  I  have  therefore 
prepared  some  figures  as  to  the  number  of  persons  injured 
by  train  accidents  in  1892,  which  have  been  already 
analyzed  as  to  other  causes.  Classified  as  stated,  the  re- 
sults are  as  follows. 

The  total  number  of  persons  injured  in  these  accidents 
were  : 

Killed 664 

Injured 2,253 

Total 2,916 

Divided  as  between  : 

Pnssengers 1,150 

Employees 1,648 

Trespassers 85 

MiscellaDeous 88 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  249 

These  casualties  resulted  from  : 

Collisions 1,458 

Derailments 1,379 

Other  accidents. .    79 

About  one-third  more  passengers  were  killed  than  em- 
ployees.    The  principal  causes  of  personal  injuries  were  : 

Killed.  Injured.  Total. 

In  rear  collisions 116  462        578 

In  butting  collisions 200  525        725 

Derailment  from  broken  rails 15  196        211 

Derailment  from  cattle  on  track  ...     80  98        128 

There  were  61  accidents,  in  which  the  trains  took  fire, 
and  from  these  fires  10  passengers  and  3  employees  were 
killed  and  13  passengers  injured. 

The  resulting  injuries  from  train  accidents  vary  of 
course  greatly  with  the  number  of  persons  exposed  in 
each,  while  serious  loss  of  life  occasionally  results  prima- 
rily from  irregularities  which  are  themselves  of  but  little 
consequence  and  of  rare  occurrence.  The  appended  table 
(Table  C)  gives  separately  each  accident  reported  in  1892 
which  resulted  in  ten  or  more  persons  being  injured.  A 
derailment  on  a  high  bank  caused  by  a  broken  rail  re- 
sulted in  2  deaths  and  34  injured.  Another  to  a  work 
train,  with  300  men  on  board,  also  happened  on  a  high 
bank,  plunging  the  train  into  a  river,  drowning  3  and  in- 
juring 30.  Another  derailment  caused  by  a  trestle  giving 
way,  after  having  been  weakened  by  a  flood,  resulted  in 
drowning  7  and  injuring  30.  A  passenger  train  ran  past 
a  block  signal  and  plunged  into  the  rear  of  another  pas- 
senger train,  killing  12  passengers  and  injuring  23.  A 
butting  collision,  growing  out  of  the  mistaken  reading  of 
a  new  time  card,  led  to  the  death  of  5  and  the  injury  of 
43  others.  A  freight  train  ran  past  a  block  sisfnal  into 
the  rear  of  a  passenger  train,  killing  9  and  wounding  32, 


250 


AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 


TABLE  C. 

SEKTOUS  ACCIDENTS— PEHSONAL  INJUKIES. 


Killed. 

Wounded, 

Total. 

Remarks. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Pas. 

Em.' To. 

i 

Butting  collision. 

' 

2 

3 

6 

2 

8 

7 

4 

11 

One  train  standing  at 
staticn;  other  ap- 
proaclied  not  under 
control 

Derailment 

2 

2 

29 

5 

31 

31 

5 

36 

Broken  rail  on  high 
bank. 

2 

•• 

2 

12 

12 

14 

14 

Broken  rail;  sleeper 
overturned. and  two 
burned  up  in  it. 

(( 

8 

3 

11 

8 

3 

11 

Janney-Miller  draw- 
head  pulled  out;  car 
struck  coal  chute. 

♦« 

8 

3 

11 

8 

3 

11 

Broken  rail. 

"       ! ! ! ! 

13 

2 

15 

13 

2 

15 

On  high  bank;  unex- 
plained. 

(( 

•• 

12 

1 

13 

12 

1 

13 

Roadbed  weakened 
by  rain. 

n 

15 

15 

15 

Broken  driving  axle. 

t( 

2 

2 

15 

15 

17 

17 

Work-train;  broken 
wheel. 

i( 

3 

3 

30 

30 

33 

33 

Work  -  train,  down 
bank  into  river;  800 
men  on  train;  un- 
explained. 

Butting  collision. 

1 

5 

6 

12 

3 

15 

13 

8 

21 

New  time-card;  frt. 
man  forgot  change 
of  pas?  train. 

it             t( 

8 

1 

9 

20 

20 

28 

1 

29 

Pass,  train  backing 
on  trestle;  sleeper 
fell  over,  frt.  ran 
into  it;  pass,  condtr. 
disregarded  orders. 

Derailment 

6 

1 

7 

25 

5 

30 

31 

6 

37 

Trestle  weakened  by 
flood;  train  turned 
over     and     people 

drowned. 

" 

3 

3 

7 

7 

10 

10 

Culvert  weakened  by 
rain. 

it 

1 

1 

11 

" 

11 

1 

12 

Cattle,  engine,  tender 
and  sleeper  in  river. 

Rear  collision. . . . 

12 

12 

23 

•• 

23 

35 

•• 

35 

First  pass,  train  stop- 
ped, second  ran  past 
block. 

"          "       .  . 

3 

3 

7 

7 

10 

•• 

10 

Pass,  train  standing 
at  station;  frt.  train 
not  under  control. 

Butting  collision. 

4 

1 

5 

43 

43 

47 

1 

48 

Pass,  and  excursion; 
new  time-card;  ex- 
cursion condr  and 
engr.  mistook  time 
it  took  eflfect; 
thought  P.M.  when 
it  was  A.M. 

MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC. 
TABLE  Q.— Continued. 


251 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Total. 

Remarks. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Butting  collision. 

1 

•• 

1 

3 

6 

9 

4 

6 

10 

Pass,  train  condr. 
careless  in  examin- 
ing junction  regis- 
ter. 

Freight      and     work 

Collision 

20 

20 

20 

20 

train;  unexplained. 

Derailment 

•• 

•• 

13 

13 

13 

• 

13 

Rails  spread ;  pass, 
car  turned  over. 

"         

•• 

5 

7 

12 

5 

7 

12 

Defective  switch; 
wiought-iron  lug  on 
switch-iail  broke. 

♦• 

5 

5 

25 

25 

,. 

30 

30 

Work-train;  cattle. 

"         

•• 

7 

7 

6 

6 

•• 

13 

13 

On  high  trestle;  fell 
over;  unexplained. 

Side  collision.... 

12 

12 

12 

12 

Car  on  side-track; 
pass,  engine  struck 
It;  pass,  cars  turned 
over. 

Derailment 

2 

•• 

2 

10 
12 

•• 

10 
12 

12 
12 

12 
12 

Misplaced  switch;  car 
turned  over. 

Engine  ran  into  train- 
shed  too  fast,  over 
butting-bloclf  into 
people  on  platform. 

Car       derailed      and 

•• 

2 

2 

8 

8 

2 

8 

10 

rolled  down  bank. 

Rear  collision.... 

_ 

■* 

20 

20 

20 

" 

20 

Empty  cars  let  down 
grade  at  station  by- 

hand  -  brakes;    lost 

control  and  ran  into 

rear  of  pass,  train, 

which  was  standing. 

Derailment.  .... 

4 

•• 

4 

13 

13 

17 

17 

Fell  through  trestle 
weak'd  by  freshet. 

2 

2 

16 

16 

18 

18 

Mixed  train;  frt.  car 
door  fell  off;  de- 
railed pass,  car  fell 
down  bank,  turned 
over  two  persona 
standing  beside 
track. 

41 

•• 

13 

13 

13 

•• 

13 

Sleeping-car  turned 
over. 

Rear  collision.,.. 

9 

9 

32 

•• 

41 

41 

At  station  frt.  train 
ran  past  automatic 
signal. 

Butting  collision. 

9 

9 

4 

4 

13 

13 

Work-train  in  time  of 
pass,  train. 

<(            (( 

3 

8 

11 

7 

1 

8 

10 

9 

19 

Condr.  and  engr.  frt. 
train  on  side-track 
asleep,train  passed; 
they  thought  it  waa 
pass,  train. 

Derailment 

4 

4 

18 

4 

•22 

18 

8 

26 

Loose  rail;  fasten- 
ings removed   ma- 

liciously. 

252  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMEKT. 

TABLE  C— Continued. 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Total. 

Remarks. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Pas. 

Em. 

To. 

Butting  collision. 

5 

3 

8 

12 

6 

18 

17 

9 

26 

Agt.  had  order  to  hold 
frt.  train,  but  tho't 
it  was  annulled  by 
subsequent  order. 

Derailment 

1 

1 

10 

1 

11 

11 

1 

12 

Defective  switch;  car 
overturned. 

"         

2 

2 

14 

14 

14 

2 

16 

Broken  rail. 

Bear  collision.. . . 

1 

1 

20 

2 

22 

22 

3 

23 

Pass,  tr^in  ran  into 
r  e  a  r  of  gravel 
standing  on  main 
line;  engine  had 
gone  to  station  for 
coal;  flagman  asleep 
in  caboose;  pass, 
engine  thrown 
down  bank. 

Derailment 

2 

•• 

2 

10 

•• 

10 

12 

12 

Pass,  car  down  the 
bank  and  turned 
over. 

«• 

1 

•• 

1 

13 

13 

14 

•• 

14 

Broken  car- wheel; 
train  down  bank; 
2  sleepers  in  trestle. 

•• 

•• 

11 

11 

11 

11 

High  wind;  4  cars 
blown  off;  engine 
left  on  track. 

Rear  collision. . . . 

1 

1 

14 

14 

15 

■ 

15 

Pass  train;  unexpect- 
ed stop  with  rear  of 
train  150  feet  out- 
side pneumatic  sig- 
nal. 

Freight  train  ran  into 

«t          ti 

7 

7 

5 

5 

12 

12 

caboose  of  wrecking 

train;  car  afire  ;    3 

burned  to  death. 

Butting  collision. 

4 

4 

9 

1 

10 

9 

5 

14 

Pass,  and  frt.  train. 

Side  collision.... 

•• 

5 

7 

12 

5 

7 

12 

Engine  and  2  cabooses 
taking  siding  struck 
by  pass,  engine. 

Derailment 

•• 

25 

25 

^ 

25 

Broken  rail;  5  pass, 
cars  ditched. 



2 

2 

15 

2 

17 

17 

2 

29 

Pass,  car  down  bank; 
cars  took  fire;  2 
cars  burned  up. 

In  50  accidents  . . 

30 

38 

68 

257 

33 

290 

285 

71 

358 

Total  reported. 

133 

472 

605 

1025 

1166 

491 

1158 

1638 

2796 

These  examples  are  given  to  show  that  any  class  of  col- 
lision or  derailment  may  result  in  great  loss  of  life.  In 
seeking  a  remedy  our  attention  should  not  be  so  much 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  253 

attracted  to  those  which  for  this  reason  have  a  tragic  in- 
terest as  to  those  causes  which  investigation  shows  to  have 
been  most  abundant  in  accidents.  So  far  as  information 
may  be  gained  from  the  train  accidents  of  1892,  but  few  of 
them  can  be  attributed  to  causes  beyond  the  control  of 
man.  In  most  of  them  the  remedy  is  to  be  sought  in  more 
efficient  appliances,  regulations,  discipline  and  inspection. 


254  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMEIS^T. 


APPENDIX  TO   ADDRESS   ON  RAILROAD  ACCI- 
DENTS, ETC. 

RULES  GOVERNING  FLAGMEN. 

Savannah,  Florida  S  Western  Raihoay  Company,  Cliarles- 
ton  &  Savannah  Raihvay  Company,  Brunswick  &  West- 
ern Railroad  Company,  Alabama  Midla7id  Railway 
Company, 


Circular  No.  2. 


Office  of  General  Manager.  ) 
Savannah,  Ga.  ,  Oct.  25,  1890.    \ 


To  Flagmeit. 


Your  attention  is  hereby  called  to  the  rules  which  pre- 
scribe your  duty  under  the  different  circumstances  in 
which  you  may  be  placed. 

ON    PASSENGER    TRAINS. 

No.  1.  At  regular  stations  noted  on  schedule  as  a  stop- 
ping place  for  that  train,  and  standing  at  the  usual  place 
for  it  to  stop.  See  Train  Rule  229.  If  your  train  stands 
over  five  minutes,  you  must  go  back  with  danger  signals 
and  protect  your  train,  as  provided  in  Rule  99. 

No.  2.  At  regular  stations  noted  on  schedule  as  a  stop- 
ping place  for  that  train,  but  not  standing  at  the  usual 
place  for  it  to  stop.  This  is  an  unusual  stop,  and  you  must 
comply  with  Train  Rule  96. 

No.  3.  Stopping  at  stations  not  noted  on  schedule  as 
a  stopping  place  for  that  train.  This  is  an  unusual  stop. 
See  Train  Rule  96. 

No.  4.  Stopping  for  wood  or  water  between  stations. 
This  is  an  unusual  stop,  to  be  governed  by  Rule  96, 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  255 

No.  5.  stopping  between  stations  for  engineer  to  ex- 
amine something  about  his  engine.  This  is  an  unusual 
stop,  and  you  must  be  governed  by  Train  Rule  96. 

No.  6.  Stopping  between  stations  to  pack  hot  boxes. 
This  is  an  unusual  stop.  You  will  be  governed  by  Train 
Rule  96. 

No.  7.  Any  other  stop  between  stations.  See  General 
Manager's  Order  No.  300,  also  No.  299,  which  reads  "  all 
other  stops  must  be  considered  unusual  stops."  You  will 
be  governed  by  Train  Rule  96. 


FOR    FREIGHT    TRAINS. 

No.  8.  At  regular  stations  not  noted  on  schedule  as  a 
stopping  place  for  that  train,  and  standing  at  the  usual 
place  for  it  to  stop.  You  will  assist  the  conductor  in 
shifting  switches,  discharging  freight,  etc.;  but  if  the  train 
is  delayed  twenty  minutes  beyond  its  scheduled  leaving 
time,  you  will  be  governed  by  Train  Rule  97. 

No.  9.  At  regular  stations  noted  on  schedule  as  a  stop- 
ping place  for  that  train,  but  train  overlapping  switch. 
You  must  consider  this  an  unusual  stop,  and  you  will  com- 
ply with  Train  Rule  97. 

No.  10.  At  regular  stations  noted  on  schedule  as  a 
stopping  place  for  that  train,  but  not  standing  at  the  usual 
place  for  it  to  stop.  This  is  an  unusual  stop,  and  you  must 
comply  with  Train  Rule  97. 

No.  11.  Stopping  at  stations  not  noted  on  schedule  as 
a  stopping  place  for  that  train.  This  is  an  unusual  stop, 
and  you  must  comply  with  Train  Rule  97. 

No.  12.  Stopping  for  wood  or  water  between  stations. 
This  is  an  unusual  stop,  and  you  will  be  governed  by  Train 
Rule  97. 

No.  13.  Stopping  between  stations  for  engineer  to  ex- 
amine something  about  his  engine.  See  General  Man- 
ager's Order  No,  300,  also  General  Manager's  Order  No. 


256  AMERICAN   RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

299.  The  above  stop  is  an  unusual  stop^  and  you  must  be 
governed  by  Train  Eule  97. 

No.  14.  Stopping  between  stations  to  pack  hot  boxes. 
This  is  an  unusual  stop,  and  you  will  be  governed  by  Train 
Eule  97. 

No.  15.  Any  other  stop  between  stations,  cause  un- 
known to  flagman.  See  General  Manager's  Orders  399 
and  300.  Stops  of  this  character  must  be  considered  un- 
usual stops,  and  you  must  be  governed  by  Train  Eule  97. 

These  instructions  do  not  relieve  the  conductors  or  en- 
gineers from  the  responsibility  which  the  rules  prescribe. 
Your  attention  is  called  to  Train  Eule  47,  and  when  the 
signal  is  given  for  flagman  to  go  back,  the  warning  must 
be  immediately  obeyed. 

When  engineers  throw  off  lighted  fusees,  as  per  Gen- 
eral Manager's  Order  No.  300,  you  will  understand  that  it 
is  his  intention  to  stop,  and  you  must  be  prepared  to  go 
out  immediately  with  proper  danger  signals. 

At  night  you  must  remember  to  comply  with  Train  Eule 
230  as  to  use  of  fusees. 

Never  forget  that  you  are  placed  at  the  rear  of  the  train 
to  protect  life  and  property,  and  that  it  is  in  the  darkness 
of  night,  in  fogs  and  in  storms,  that  your  prompt  attention 
to  duty  is  most  valuable. 

It  is  better  for  your  own  peace  of  mind  that  you  should 
get  wet  or  be  left  on  the  road,  cold  and  hungry,  than  for 
you  to  see  life  lost,  perhaps  your  own  friends  mangled  and 
crippled,  or  engines  and  cars  broken  up  in  a  collision 
through  your  own  carelessness  or  laziness,  or  because  you 
did  not  go  back  when  you  knew  that  you  ought  to. 

To  Engineers  and  Conductors. 

Your  attention  is  called  to  this  circular.  See  that  flag- 
men understand  it  and  act  upon  it.  Pay  strict  attention 
to  what  is  required  of  you  as  to  giving  whistle  signals  or 
verbal  instructions  to  flagmen  ;  also  as  to  dropping  fusees 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  257 

in  ample  time  when  you  know  in  advance  that  you  intend 
to  stop  at  an  unusual  place.  You  will  thereby  assist  your 
officers  in  protecting  your  own  lives,  as  well  as  the  lives 
and  property  which  it  is  your  duty  to  protect.  You  will 
also  add  to  the  reputation  of  the  railroad  company  which 
employs  you,  and  in  which  I  believe  you  take  as  much  pride 
as  I  do. 

H.  S.  Haines,  General  Manager. 


258  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 


RAILROAD  DEVELOPMENT,  ITS  PAST,  PRESENT 
AND  FUTURE. 

(Address  Delivered  in  Festival  Hall,  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 
on  i.ailroad  Day,  September  16,  1893.) 

Because  of  the  event  which  we  commemorate  to-day, 
this  is  an  appropriate  occasion  on  which  to  link  the  past 
and  future  of  railroad  development  together,  a  past,  brief 
in  j)oint  of  time,  but  replete  with  great  accomplishment ; 
a  period  which  produced  men  of  heroic  cast  well  fitted  to 
grapple  with  the  foundation  problems  which  barred  their 
way.  When  we  look  back  to  that  primitive  era  when  all 
this  ground  was  virgin  soil,  when  every  step  onward,  what- 
ever direction  might  be  chosen,  was  obscured  by  forests  of 
doubts  and  obstructed  by  mountains  of  difficulties  we  envy 
our  predecessors  the  joy  of  the  contest  in  which  they  were 
then  engaged,  the  greatness  of  the  victories  which  they 
won.  For  they  were  the  pioneers  who  cleared  the  forests 
that  we  might  plow  the  fields. 

I  shall  now  ask  your  attention  while  I  attempt  briefly 
to  outline  some  of  the  problems  which  presented  them- 
selves to  the  men  who  brought  the  art  of  transportation 
by  rail  to  its  present  state  and  we  shall  not  have  to  look 
back  very  far  when  we  remember  that  at  the  trial  which 
was  to  determine  whether  locomotives  should  be  used 
upon  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Railroad,  one  of  the 
competitors  was  Ericsson,  who  has  not  long  passed  away 
from  us. 

The  first  of  these  foundation  problems  was  to  produce 
a  better  covering  for  a  traveled  road  than  was  afforded  by 
stone  pavement,  for  the  generation  of  Telford  and  Mac- 
adam seemed  to  have  said  the  last  word  on  that  subject. 
This  ])roblem  was  solved  by  the  use  of  a  metallic  covering 
narrowed  down  to  the  width  of  the  wagon  tire,  which  was 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  259 

itself  most  ingeniously  restrained  in  its  path  by  attaching 
a  flange  to  the  tire  instead  of  the  track.  This  invention 
was  typified  by  the  name  which  was  given  to  it  of  "  rail- 
road/' a  term  pregnant  with  greater  promise  of  material 
progress  in  civilization  than  any  which  has  since  been 
coined,  and  the  first  problem  of  the  flange  on  the  wheel 
had  been  solved  for  all  time  to  come.  It  was  one  of  those 
great  difficulties  which  I  have  just  spoken  of  as  tending 
to  make  us  envious  of  those  who  had  them  to  solve.  And 
what  a  happy  solution  !  Jessop,  the  man  who  is  credited 
with  having  solved  it,  passed  away  unhonored  and  unsung. 
If  it  were  to  be  solved  to-day,  it  would  be  protected  by  a 
patent  and  the  inventor  would  soon  count  his  millions. 

The  next  problem  was  the  form  of  the  rail,  and  after 
passing  through  experimental  stages  of  cast  iron  slabs  or 
racks,  of  strap  iron  and  flanged  rail,  two  types  were  de- 
veloped, the  double-header  rail  which  our  English  brethren 
have  retained  and  the  T  section,  adopted  by  us,  and  for 
which  we  are  indebted  to  Vignoles,  who  was,  I  believe,  at 
one  time  employed  in  South  Carolina  as  a  surveyor.  The 
T  rail  seems  to  be  the  type  which  has  come  to  stay,  for 
with  our  increasing  rolling  weights,  the  rail  must  more 
and  more  assume  the  functions  of  a  loaded  girder  for 
which  the  T  section  is  the  ideal  form  ;  and  so  we  may  look 
upon  that  as  another  of  the  foundation  problems  which 
was  solved  by  our  predecessors. 

The  improved  surface  suggested  by  a  railroad  soon  sug- 
gested possible  loads  and  speeds  beyond  the  powers  of  a 
horse,  and  the  horse  power  of  Watt  and  Bolton  was  put 
upon  its  legs  by  Blenkinsop  and  upon  wheels  by  Eastrick, 
Hackworth,  Braithwaite,  Ericsson  and  the  Stephensons, 
and  the  locomotive,  the  iron  horse,  was  harnessed  to  the 
railroad  wagon  with  results  which  so  far  exceeded  the  ex- 
pectations of  its  creators  as  to  excite  alarm  by  reason  of 
that  very  success.  Here  again  I  would  pause  for  a  moment 
that  you  may  join  in  with  me  in  a  sigh  of  regret  that  those 
sturdy  Britons  should  have  deprived  our  generation  and 


260  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

our  country  of  the  glorious  satisfaction  which  can  never 
be  ours,  and  which  they  so  keenly  enjoyed  in  their  own 
grim  way — to  have  been  the  first  to  avail  themselves  of 
this  application  of  the  newly  acquired  control  of  steam — 
to  transform  inanimate  metals  into  an  animated  machine 
that  should  rush  through  space  at  a  speed  never  before 
attained  with  human  beings,  yet  more  responsive  to  the 
controlling  mind  than  any  creature  ever  tamed  by  man. 
Which  of  you  does  not  envy  such  opportunities  and  sigh 
that  there  are  no  more  such  worlds  to  conquer  ?  We  who 
are  here  to-day  to  testify  to  the  rank  and  station  of  our 
country  in  this  recently  created  field  of  human  enterprise 
and  ingenuity  should  not  forget  that  on  the  10th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1829,  Mr.  Rastrick  exhibited  at  Stourbridge  a  loco- 
motive intended  for  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Co. 
while  the  noted  contest  of  locomotives  on  the  Liverpool 
&  Manchester  Railroad  did  not  take  place  until  October 
1829, — and  farther,  that  the  first  freight  train  which  ran 
from  Liverpool  to  Manchester  was  laden  with  American 
cotton. 

The  locomotive  as  inherited  from  these  early  champions 
has  not  since  been  altered  in  its  principal  features.  Its 
success  was  due  to  three  devices,  the  tubular  boiler  sug- 
gested by  Henry  Booth,  treasurer  of  the  Liverpool  &  Man- 
chester Railroad  Co.,  the  slide  valve  and  the  exhaust  blast. 
We  have  enlarged  upon  their  dimensions  and  refined  upon 
their  details,  but  the  flying  giant  of  to-day  is  essentially 
the  counterpart  of  the  "  Little  Rocket,"  and  we  might  look 
upon  the  locomotive  as  an  exhausted  problem  but  for  the 
recent  application  of  the  compound  principle  which  for  a 
brief  period  prevailed  over  the  low-pressure  condensing 
engine  for  marine  service,  until  superseded  by  the  triple- 
expansion  system. 

Although  the  railroad  track  preceded  the  locomotive, 
when  the  prestige  of  the  latter  had  once  been  established 
the  track  had  to  conform  to  its  requirements  ;  inclined 
planes  gave  place  to  gradients  practicable  for  locomotives. 


MISCELLAi^EOtJS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  261 

and  the  demand  for  higher  speeds  and  heavier  loads  has 
kept  alive  a  struggle  between  engine  builders  and  road 
builders,  from  that  day  to  this. 

The  pressure  became  so  great  that  relief  was  sought  in 
widening  the  gauge  and  this  led  to  the  "battle  of  the 
gauges  ''  which  at  one  time  had  all  England  aroused,  with 
engineers  and  lawyers  marshalled  in  rival  hosts  under  the 
leadership  of  Stephenson,  Brunei,  and  their  compeers. 
The  contest  was  renewed  on  this  side  the  ocean,  first 
with  the  broad  gauge  and  then  with  the  narrow  gauge,  to 
be  finally  set  at  rest  on  June  1,  1886,  by  the  general  adop- 
tion of  the  orginal  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Eailroad 
gauge,  and  so  that  problem  was  solved. 

The  track  and  the  locomotive  were  accepted  by  the  first 
generation  of  American  railroad  men  in  the  form  in  which 
they  left  the  hands  of  their  British  brethren,  with  one 
CKception;  an  exception  which  either  by  direct  tendency 
or  by  reactive  effect  has  led  to  essential  departures  in  de- 
vices, appliances  and  methods  in  this  country  from  those 
which  had  been  adhered  to  in  Europe.  I  refer  to  the  ap- 
plication to  locomotives  and  rolling  stock  of  the  bogie  or 
four  wheel  truck,  commonly  attributed  to  Jervis.  The 
use  of  this  truck  enabled  us  to  operate  a  cheaply  built 
railroad  with  a  degree  of  success  which  could  not  have 
been  obtained  with  a  totally  rigid  wheel  base,  and  as  a 
consequence,  made  possible  the  rapid  extension  of  our  rail- 
road system.  It  led  to  our  retaining  the  outside  connected 
cylinders  as  first  designed  by  Stephenson,  in  connection 
with  the  coupled  driving  wheels  as  used  by  Braithwaite 
and  Ericsson,  which  in  Great  Britain  were  replaced  by  the 
inside  connected  crank  axle  with  single  drivers.  The  use 
of  the  four  wheel  truck  under  rolling  stock  speedily  in- 
duced the  substitution  of  the  long  bodied  passenger  car 
with  end  platforms  in  place  of  the  coach  body  carriages 
with  side  entrances  and  consequently  to  our  difi'erently 
organized  train  crews. 

For  these  reasons  it  may  be  fairly  claimed  that  the  four 


262  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

wheel  truck  was  the  original  cause  for  our  fundamental 
variations  from  the  general  system  of  railroad  ojoerations 
which  now  prevails  in  Europe. 

In  another  respect  we  departed  from  the  ways  of  our 
teachers.  This  was  a  wooded  country,  its  hills  and  plains 
covered  with  thick  forests  affording  timber  of  large  dimen- 
sions and  of  excellent  quality.  Our  first  generation  of  rail- 
road engineers  availed  themselves  of  this  abundant  and  ac- 
cessible material  for  the  construction  of  bridges  with  spans 
exceeding  those  which  were  practicable  at  a  reasonable 
cost  if  built  of  masonry.  Here  they  solved  the  problem  of 
panel  trusses,  which  by  a  yet  further  development,  origin- 
ating with  Bollman  and  with  Albert  Fink,  who  is  still  with 
us,  the  honored  object  of  our  emulation  and  esteem — has 
made  our  pin  connected  bridges  confessedly  superior  to 
the  riveted  trusses  beyond  the  seas. 

At  this  point  I  feel  that  I  may  take  an  inventory  of  what 
we  are  indebted  to  the  first  generation,  to  the  grandfathers 
of  the  younger  railroad  men  who  are  here  to-day.  We  owe 
to  them  the  rail  section  as  we  have  it,  the  flanged  wheel, 
the  locomotive,  the  four-wheel  truck,  the  truss  bridge,  and 
since  we  come  to  think  of  it,  this  makes  up  in  substance 
about  all  that  there  is  of  the  railroad  of  to-day.  Our  ad- 
dition to  their  work  has  virtually  been  in  developing  their 
ideas,  with  some  exceptions  to  be  noted  hereafter. 

If  this  was  the  work  of  the  first  generation  what  shall 
we  claim  for  our  own  generation,  for  those  of  us  who  are 
tending  toward  that  period  of  life  in  which  we  shall  lag 
superfluous  on  the  stage,  sententious  critics  of  those  who 
are  relieving  us  of  our  burdens.  We  may  say  that  our 
work  was  largely  the  extension  of  the  railroad  system  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  millions  who  were  flocking  to 
the  rich  prairies  of  the  west,  eager  to  hear  the  locomotive 
whistle  echoing  in  their  ears  before  the  crops  were  seeded 
for  which  they  sought  a  market.  It  was  a  period  of  re- 
organization of  train  service  and  of  traffic  methods  to  pro- 
vide for  the  swelling  tide  of  business  which  rolled  between 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  263 

the  east  and  the  west,  between  the  north  and  the  south, 
in  steadily  increasing  volume.  During  this  period  were 
developed  through  passenger  train  schedules,  through  pas- 
sage tickets  and  baggage  checks  and  way  bills,  all  that 
network  of  intercommunication  to  which  the  people  entrust 
themselves  and  their  baggage,  their  products  and  their 
merchandise  for  transportation  from  one  end  of  this  broad 
land  to  the  other  without  knowing  or  caring  over  whose 
roads  or  over  how  many  they  go,  feeling  assured  that  they 
will  reach  their  destination  safely  and  at  the  appointed 
time. 

These  were  the  problems  solved  by  the  transportation 
men  of  our  days,  and  it  was  in  recognition  of  their  good 
work  that  so  many  of  them  came  to  the  front  to  share 
the  honors  which  before  had  gone  principally  to  the  en- 
gine builders  first  and  then  to  the  road  builders.  It  was 
the  perfection  of  this  system  of  intercommunication  which 
paved  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  the  sleeping  cars 
which  have  made  the  names  of  Pullman  and  Wagner  so 
grateful  to  the  ear  of  those  who  had  before  journeyed  by 
day  and  by  night,  travel  worn  and  travel  stained,  unable 
to  rest  their  heads  or  stretch  their  legs.  The  sleeping  car, 
the  one  thing  which  makes  long  and  continuous  journeys 
comfortable,  I  had  almost  said  possible,  seems  to  have 
reached  its  ultimate  stage  of  improvement. 

Another  epoch  of  railroad  development  commenced 
with  the  method  devised  by  Bessemer  for  the  direct  conver- 
sion of  pig  iron  into  steel.  Those  of  us  who  saw  our  iron 
rails  wearing  out  and  knew  not  where  to  obtain  the  means 
to  replace  them,  looked  with  envious  eyes  upon  the  beau- 
tiful tracks  laid  by  our  wealthier  neighbors  with  steel  cost- 
ing $100  per  ton.  Little  did  any  of  us  look  forward  to 
the  day  when  iron  rails  would  utterly  disappear  from  the 
face  of  the  earth  !  Yet  it  seems  to  us  now  that  with  a 
steel  rail  of  100  lbs.  section  with  heavy  joint  fastenings 
and  properly  ballasted  there  is  nothing  farther  to  seek  in 
the  way  of  a  railroad  track.     Steel,  too,  has  lent  itself  to 


264  AMERIOAK  EAILWAY   MAKAGEMEKT. 

greater  deeds  of  engineering  in  bridge  construction  and 
largely  to  the  establishment  of  a  new  type  of  bridges  in 
the  cantilever,  surpassing  in  reality  our  previous  ideas  of 
possibility  in  length  of  spans.  The  application  of  com- 
pressed air  to  sub-aqueous  foundations  has  been  a  collateral 
aid  to  these  undertakings,  though  compressed  air  for  this 
purpose  had  been  employed  in  the  Southern  States  prior  to 
1860. 

The  construction  of  passenger  cars  has  not  materially 
changed.  The  present  type  seems  destined  to  remain  as 
the  American  system,  the  six-wheeled  trucks,  the  vcstibuled 
platforms  we  may  claim  as  recent  improvements,  but  for 
the  great  invention  which  next  to  steel  rails  has  marked 
this  epoch  of  advancement  in  railroad  methods  we  are 
indebted  to  Geo.  Westinghouse,  Jr.,  for  without  air  brakes 
where  should  we  have  been  to-day  ;  with  their  assistance 
what  have  we  not  accomplished  in  increased  speed  and 
safety  of  passenger  trains  :  what  will  we  not  be  able  to 
accomplish  hereafter  with  freight  trains.  Nor  must  I 
pass  unnoticed  the  aid  which  we  have  received  in  this  con- 
nection by  the  invention  of  automatic  close  coupling  de- 
vices with  which  the  names  of  Janney,  Gould,  McConway 
and  others,  and  particularly  of  our  master  car-builders, 
must  be  associated.  In  transportation  methods  there  have 
been  great  changes,  too,  in  matters  of  principle,  due  to  the 
adaptation  of  the  electric  telegraph  to  train  service, 
originating,  it  is  said,  with  Moran  on  the  Erie  Eailroad. 
In  Europe  the  telegraph  was  applied  in  a  different  way, 
for  as  the  roads  there  were  double  tracked  and  the  move- 
ment of  trains  largely  controlled  by  fixed  signals,  the  tele- 
graph was  applied  to  transmitting  information  to  the  sig- 
nalmen to  aid  in  keeping  following  trains  apart.  But 
upon  our  single  track  roads  the  telegraph  was  used  to  issue 
orders  directly  to  opposing  trains.  Hence  there  has  grown 
up  with  us  a  system  of  train  orders,  differing  fundamen- 
tally from  anything  in  use  in  Europe,  and  which  has 
rather  limited  than  displaced  that  independent  manage- 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  265 

ment  of  a  train  by  its  engineer  and  conductor,  which  has 
characterized  American  railroad  management  from  its  in- 
cipiency  ;  a  system  which  has  tended  largely  to  the  de- 
velopment of  intelligence  and  character  among  our  rail- 
road men  and  to  which  is  probably  due  the  presence  of  so 
great  a  proportion  of  men  from  the  transportation  depart- 
ment among  the  higher  officials  in  charge  of  our  railroad 
operations. 

The  organization  of  our  railroads  has  been  much  im- 
proved since  1870.  The  aggregation  of  separate  compa- 
nies into  large  systems,  the  rapidly  increasing  traffic,  the 
growing  recognition  of  the  importance  of  technical  knowl- 
edge, have  all  tended  to  a  more  marked  division  of  author- 
ity and  to  a  further  specialization  of  duties  among  the  staif . 
The  lines  have  been  clearly  drawn  between  the  financial, 
the  legal,  the  traffic  and  the  operating  departments.  It  is 
recognized  that  the  area  in  each  is  too  extensive  to  be 
adequately  covered  by  any  one  mind,  and  the  old  fashioned 
ubiquitous  railroad  manager  will  no  longer  suffice  for  the 
satisfactory  direction  in  detail  of  all  the  affairs  of  a  modern 
railroad  corporation.  That  something  may  be  lost  in 
breadth  of  view  and  in  directness  of  purpose  by  these 
changes  of  organization  is  to  be  expected.  But  even  as 
the  field  for  mechanical  ingenuity  was  largely  covered  by 
the  first  generation  of  railroad  men,  so  has  the  field  for 
creating  great  enterprises  for  controlling  the  railroads  of 
a  state  or  of  a  group  of  states  and  even  for  spanning  the 
continent  been  measurably  exhausted  by  the  generation 
which  is  now  at  the  helm. 

When  the  railroad  mileage  of  this  country  touched 
175,000  miles  and  the  annual  increase  amounted  to  10,000 
miles,  the  limit  of  broad  extension  and  of  founding  new 
railroad  systems  seemed  to  have  been  reached  and  also  a 
standpoint  attained  from  which  we  can  look  backward 
upon  the  past  and  take  fresh  breath  to  look  forward  to  the 
problems  which  the  future  has  in  store.  To  doubt  that 
such  problems  there  are  and  of  momentous  importance  to 


266  AMERICAT^    RAILWAY   MAKAGEMENT. 

US  and  to  those  who  are  to  come  after  us,  would  be  to  doubt 
the  destiny  of  our  nature  and  the  genius  of  our  people. 
But  that  these  problems  will  be  in  a  great  measure  new  to 
us  and  that  they  will  be  solved  in  an  unexpected  way  we 
may  believe  because  of  our  past  experience. 

Who  could  have  expected  that  the  broad  and  level  turn- 
pike should  have  been  succeeded  by  the  narrow  band  of 
iron;  the  prancing  coach  horse  and  the  plodding  roadster 
by  a  machine  fed  on  fire  and  water;  the  extreme  speed  of 
fifteen  miles  per  hour  by  the  present  standard  of  sixty  ? 
Or  who  could  have  looked  forward  to  the  substitution  of 
iron  by  steel  with  the  attendant  consequences,  or  to  the 
rapid  construction  of  single  span  bridges  over  broad 
estuaries,  or  to  the  manifold  uses  of  electricity  and  com- 
pressed air  ? 

The  problems  immediately  before  us  are  of  a  conflicting 
character.  In  the  face  of  diminishing  freight  rates  we  are 
called  on  to  handle  increasing  volumes  of  business  at 
greater  speed  and  with  greater  safety.  Just  as  new  tools 
and  appliances  and  methods  in  other  departments  of  in- 
dustry have  been  so  adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which  they 
are  intended  as  to  enable  their  possessors  to  undersell  and 
bankrupt  their  competitors  who  cling  to  the  old  devices, 
so  it  must  be  with  railroads.  If  we  are  to  operate  passen- 
ger trains  habitually  at  a  speed  exceeding  sixty  miles  per 
hour,  it  must  be  upon  tracks  specially  devoted  to  that 
service  with  grades  not  exceeding  twenty  feet  to  the  mile 
and  curves  of  not  less  than  two  thousand  feet  radius,  with- 
out grade  crossings  or  facing  switches,  and  protected  by 
automatic  block  signals  covering  the  distance  in  which  the 
train  can  be  stopped.  On  these  tracks,  cattle,  perishable 
and  other  high  class  traffic  could  also  be  moved  with  suit- 
able equipment,  but  the  grosser  commodities,  grain,  pro- 
visions, coal,  ore,  lumber,  etc.,  must  be  handled  on  separate 
tracks  of  similar  alignment  and  grades,  and  equally  as  well 
protected  against  obstructions  or  collisions.  Over  these 
tracks  freight  trains  loaded  to  their  utmost  capacity  must 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  267 

move  in  continuous  procession.  For  the  high  speed  passen- 
ger trains  the  utmost  efficiency  must  be  sought  regardless 
of  expense.  For  the  freight  traffic  the  utmost  economy  will 
be  required,  economy  as  to  the  combustion  of  fuel,  the 
utilization  of  steam  at  higher  pressures  than  we  have  yet 
considered,  the  employment  of  heavier  engines  and  the  de- 
termination of  the  most  economical  rate  of  speed  at  which 
this  endless  procession  of  freight  trains  should  move,  say 
from  Chicago  to  New  York,  without  stopping  except  for 
fuel.  To  do  this  is  entirely  practicable  with  our  present 
stock  of  knowledge.  It  is  not  a  question  of  science  but  of 
finance.  But  when  this  has  been  accomplished  and  the 
competitive  traffic  of  large  volume  is  handled  over  these 
new  trunk  lines  at  a  cost  per  ton  mile  which  cannot  be 
approached  over  the  roads  of  antiquated  construction, 
with  grades  that  cannot  be  reduced,  and  curves  that  cannot 
be  eased,  what  will  be  the  result  ?  The  fierce  struggle  to 
give  the  most  for  the  least  money,  which  is  characteristic 
of  our  traffic  management,  will  be  maintained  with  re- 
newed vigor. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  difference  between  the  rate 
per  ton  mile  and  the  cost  per  ton  mile  yielded  a  margin 
sufficient  to  pay  a  fair  return  upon  the  capital  invested, 
and  still  leave  a  surplus  for  extensive  improvements".  But 
that  time  has  passed  with  most  railroad  companies.  A 
few  are  so  favored  by  natural  conditions  that  such  a  course 
is  still  practicable  for  them.  The  traffic  of  other  roads 
yields  still  sufficient  revenue  to  justify  the  assurance  that 
additional  capital  may  yet  be  employed  at  a  fair  return  of 
interest.  But  the  proportion  of  mileage  in  this  country  is 
rapidly  increasing  which  can  barely  spare  enough  from  its 
income  to  pay  a  scant  dividend  to  its  stockholders,  after 
paying  its  fixed  charges.  Eailroad  corporations  so  re- 
stricted in  income  cannot,  with  safety,  borrow  additional 
capital  for  works  which  will  not  add  new  business,  but  will 
simply  provide  better  and  safer  facilities  for  doing  that 
which  they  now  have.     If  they  attempt  it  they  will  use  the 


268  AMERICAN   RAlLWATf    MANAGEMENT. 

income  applicable  for  dividends  to  pay  the  interest  on 
their  new  issues  of  bonds.  It  is  needless  in  this  connection 
to  refer  to  roads  which  barely  pay  their  fixed  charges. 
The  force  of  this  argument  is  illustrated  by  the  statement 
that  in  1891  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  railroad  stock 
in  this  country  received  as  much  as  5  per  cent,  and  about 
60  per  cent,  received  nothing. 

As  the  margin  between  the  rate  for  transportation  and 
the  cost  of  transportation  approaches  the  vanishing  point, 
the  most  serious  problem  with  our  successors  on  such  rail- 
roads will  be  how  to  make  both  ends  meet. 

In  looking  over  the  different  departments  of  operation, 
it  would  seem  that  there  is  no  great  field  for  economy  in 
the  roadway  department  except  in  the  preservation  of 
timber,  or  in  the  locomotive  department,  except  iln  the 
better  combustion  of  fuel  and  the  use  of  steam  at  higher 
pressure,  unless  electric  motors  shall  yield  results  not  yet 
apparent.  The  use  of  structural  steel  in  rolling  stock 
should  cheapen  the  cost  of  maintenance  in  this  depart- 
ment, but  beyond  these  items  there  is  no  word  of  promise 
to  the  railroad  manager  for  important  savings  in  track  or 
equipment.  The  direction  in  which  there  is  most  to  be 
looked  for  is  in  the  better  use  of  freight  cars.  When  we 
think  that  the  average  mileage  of  our  freight  cars  is  but 
little  over  20  miles  per  day  and  their  average  load  less  than 
three  tons,  of  what  use  to  talk  about  freight  train  speeds  of 
20  miles  per  hour,  and  of  freight  cars  of  30  tons  capacity  ? 
That  our  stock  of  a  million  freight  cars  should  average  no 
more  miles  in  a  day  than  a  freight  train  can  run  in  an 
hour,  and  that  too,  loaded  to  only  one-tenth  of  their  ca- 
pacity, is  not  creditable  to  our  transportation  and  traffic 
officials.  There  is  no  problem  before  them  of  a  more 
pressing  character  and  the  means  for  its  solution  are  in 
their  own  hands. 

There  is  yet  another  problem  which  in  the  past  decade 
has  loomed  up  before  us  and  which  involves  considerations 
outside  the  sphere  of  either  science  or  finance.     It  is  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  269 

proper  attitude  of  railroad  corporations  toward  labor  or- 
ganizations. This  is  but  one  of  the  manifold  aspects  of 
the  great  problem  of  modern  civilization,  the  relation  of 
capital  and  labor. 

The  problem  as  affecting  railroad  operations  is  still 
further  complicated  by  the  intervention  of  a  public  inter- 
est to  be  respected,  which  is  not  involved  in  ordinary  in- 
dustrial enterprises.  The  subject  is  one  which  cannot  be 
satisfactorily  treated  within  the  limit  of  time  now  at  my 
disposal  and  I  have  only  referred  to  it  in  this  incidental 
way  as  one  of  those  problems  as  yet  unsolved.  That  the 
solution,  when  reached,  will  tend  to  improve  the  present 
relations  between  officials  and  other  classes  of  employees, 
we  who  are  now  of  the  one  class  and  have  been  of  the 
others  must  not  only  hope  but  believe.  We  represent  the 
minds  which  control  this  army  of  three  quarters  of  a  mil- 
lion of  men  and  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  our  responsi- 
bility to  them,  to  the  nine  thousand  millions  of  capital 
invested  in  the  enterprises  placed  under  our  management 
and  to  the  sixty-five  millions  of  citizens  whose  lives  and 
property  are  entrusted  to  our  care.  We  are  here  in  the 
midst  of  a  display  of  the  world^s  development  in  every 
department  of  nature,  organic  and  inorganic,  in  every 
phase  of  human  progress  from  primitive  savagery  to  the 
latest  results  of  modern  civilization  ;  a  display  as  enor- 
mous as  it  is  magnificent.  So  enormous  indeed,  so  com-, 
plete  in  its  fullness  of  presentation,  so  inimitable  in  its 
artistic  setting,  that  mankind  in  despair  of  rivalling  it 
may  never  seek  to  reproduce  it.  And  in  this  stupendous 
array  of  that  which  the  will  of  God  has  created  and  the 
hand  of  man  has  wrought  there  is  no  one  department  that 
sets  forth  the  continuous  advance  of  humanity  along  the 
lines  of  progress  and  civilization  so  forcibly  as  that  which 
finds  its  most  triumphal  expression  in  the  appliances  for 
accelerated  transportation.  As  we  gaze  along  these  rows 
of  locomotives  from  the  pigmies  of  60  years  ago  to  the 
behemoths  of  to-day  let  not  the  present  generation  forget 


270  AMERICAN    RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

the  great  debt  which  it  owes  to  the  stalwart  champions 
who  entered  their  iron  steeds  in  the  locomotive  tourna- 
ment that  preceded  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  &  Man- 
chester Railroad,  and  let  ns  all  who  are  railroad  men  here 
on  this  occasion  glory  in  their  great  achievements  and 
feel  proud  that  it  has  fallen  to  us  to  carry  on  the  work  so 
bravely  begun  by  them. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES^  ETC.  271 


A  RAILEOAD  MA:Nr :  HIS  TEAmiNG  AND  CAREER. 

(Address  Delivered  at  the  Anniversary  Meeting  of  the  Railroad 
Branch,  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  New  York  City,  Jan- 
uary 30,  1894.) 

That  I,  a  stranger  to  most  of  you,  should  have  been  in- 
vited to  address  you  on  this  occasion  was  indeed  a  surprise, 
but  also  a  pleasure,  since  it  affords  me,  a  railroad  man, 
the  opportunity  to  address  an  assemblage  of  railroad  men. 

It  would  seem  that  from  the  experience  of  one  who  be- 
gan life  as  a  rodman  in  a  railroad  engineers^  camp  and  who 
has  served  as  an  apprentice  in  a  machine  shop,  as  a  locomo- 
tive runner,  as  an  engineer  on  construction,  as  a  superin- 
tendent in  operation  and,  as  general  manager  and  as  vice- 
president  in  the  management  of  a  railway  system,  I  say 
it  would  seem  that  from  such  an  experience  of  forty  years 
something  could  be  gathered  which  the  older  men  among 
3''ou  might  recognize  as  familiar  to  them,  and  which  should 
be  of  interest,  and  perhaps  of  profit,  to  those  whose  ex- 
perience is  yet  to  be  acquired. 

That  period  of  forty  years  covered  great  changes  in  the 
manner  of  operating  railroads.  What  was  then  but  an  art, 
imperfectly  understood,  applied  to  roads  of  short  mileage 
and  serving  only  local  interests,  has  grown  into  the  science 
of  railroad  management  applied  to  systems  with  thousands 
of  miles  of  track  and  serving  over  sixty  millions  of  people, 
and  among  them  all  there  is  no  more  striking  example 
of  this  expansion  than  is  afforded  by  the  great  New  York 
Central  System,  which  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  us 
together  here  to-night. 

This  whole  subject  of  the  history  of  railroads  in  this 
country,  of  their  marvelous  growth,  of  their  importance 
to  the  welfare  of  our  people,  of  their  future  development, 
is    one    of    surpassing    interest    in    whatever   way    it    is 


272  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAN^AGEMENT. 

viewed,  but  for  your  purposes  and  for  mine  it  is  best  to 
look  at  it  as  it  affects  the  railroad  employees — ^the  men 
who  build  railroads,  who  keep  them  up,  who  handle  the 
trains  and  the  traffic  and  the  accounts.  How  is  it  with 
them  ?  Has  their  condition  improved  with  the  growth  of 
railroads  ?  Is  their  chance  of  getting  along  in  the  world 
as  good  now  as  it  was  with  those  who  went  before  them 
or  with  those  who  are  following  other  occupations  ? 

For,  after  all,  the  matters  of  most  importance  to  nearly 
every  man  are  to  make  a  living  for  himself  and  family  and 
to  better  his  condition  and  theirs.  These  are  practical 
questions,  and  if  I  am  to  talk  to  you  about  them  at  all 
I  must  do  so  in  a  practical  way.  I  do  not  propose  to 
preach  to  you,  nor  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  morals,  but  to  see 
if  there  has  been  anything  in  my  experience  as  a  railroad 
man  which  can  be  applied  to  your  case  and  which  may 
help  you  to  do  some  of  your  own  thinking. 

The  first  railroad  men  that  I  knew  had  generally  started 
out  in  life  in  some  other  business.  They  had  been  me- 
chanics or  laborers  on  construction  who  staid  on  after  the 
road  was  built,  and  were  employed  on  work  trains  or  around 
the  shops,  and  then  got  on  the  road  as  firemen  or  brake- 
men  or  perhaps  as  track  foremen.  The  locomotive  run- 
ners were  mostly  mechanics  who  had  been  sent  out  to  put 
up  the  engines  from  the  shops  where  they  were  built. 
Where  the  railroads  had  done  away  with  stage  lines,  the 
stage  drivers  were  frequently  hired  as  conductors.  From 
this  way  of  employing  men  it  followed  that  many  of  them 
had  to  learn  the  business  after  they  had  taken  it  up,  and 
they  did  a  good  deal  of  experimenting  as  they  went  along. 
The  discipline  was  loose  and  the  rules  were  few.  On  the 
older  roads  the  men  knew  the  people  along  the  line  as  well 
as  they  knew  the  grades  and  curves,  and  they  had  their 
own  understandings  among  themselves  about  making  pass- 
ing points  when  trains  were  out  of  time,  and  about  many 
other  things  that  are  now  provided  for  by  rules.  They  got 
along  with  what  we' would  now  consider  poor  appliances, 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  273 

with  results,  that  as  I  look  back  upon  those  times,  seem 
very  remarkable.  They  were  men  full  of  resources  in 
emergencies.  Whether  an  engine  broke  down  or  a  train 
got  off  the  track,  they  had  to  take  care  of  themselves,  for 
there  were  no  telegrajoh  lines,  and  wrecking  trains  with 
their  tools  and  appliances  were  unknown.  Whatever  was 
done  had  to  be  done  with  jack-screws  and  pry-poles  and 
engine  wood,  or  with  such  material  as  could  be  picked  up 
along  the  line  of  road. 

Then  there  came  a  time  of  rapid  expansion  when  many 
roads  were  built  and  railroad  men  of  all  kinds  were  in 
demand.  The  younger  men  on  the  old  roads  went  to  the 
new  roads  to  better  their  fortunes,  which  the  steady  men 
generally  did.  But  along  with  this  class  of  men  went 
another  class  who  were  no  credit  to  themselves  nor  to  any 
one  else, — men  who  had  been  dismissed  for  bad  conduct 
or  for  worthlessness.  Such  men  gave  railroad  men  a  bad 
name  in  communities  where  railroads  were  a  new  thing, 
and  it  was  not  surprising  that  the  old  settlers  did  not  want 
to  associate  with  them  and  did  not  attempt  to  discriminate 
between  the  good  and  the  bad.  This  led  to  the  railroad 
men  flocking  by  themselves,  and  where  a  set  of  men,  all 
engaged  in  the  same  business,  are  thrown  by  themselves, 
they  not  only  became  very  clannish,  but  if  many  of  them 
are  young  and  without  families  it  is  neither  conducive  to 
good  habits  nor  to  good  behavior. 

When  the  railroad  mileage  of  this  country  was  increas- 
ing from  six  to  ten  thousand  miles  per  annum,  there  must 
have  been  also  a  yearly  increase  of  from  30,000  to  50,000 
railroad  men,  and  it  was  very  easy  to  get  employment  on  a 
railroad.  It  also  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
men  of  experience  and  ability  to  obtain  promotion.  For 
some  years  past  construction  has  not  been  so  great,  and 
now  it  has  measurably  ceased.  Whether  we  shall  soon  see 
a  return  of  what  we  may  call  the  flush  times  of  railroad 
building  is  doubtful.  There  hardly  seems  room  for  many 
new  systems  built  a  thousand  miles  at  a  time  as  has  been 


274  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

the  case  heretofore.  Nearly  all  the  construction  at  pres- 
ent is  in  the  way  of  local  feeders  to  existing  systems  and 
which  come  under  their  management.  With  this  situation 
before  us  we  look  around  and  ask,  what  is  the  prospect 
for  a  railroad  man  to  make  a  living  for  himself  and  his 
family  ?     What  is  his  chance  for  bettering  his  condition  ? 

As  I  have  just  said,  circumstances  have  somewhat  di- 
vided railroad  men  into  two  classes.  One  includes  the 
men  who  have  held  steady  jobs  for  years,  who  have  raised 
their  families  in  one  place,  and  are  not  only  part  and  parcel 
of  the  communities  in  which  they  live,  but,  as  one  may 
say,  part  and  parcel  also  of  the  roads  on  which  they  are 
employed.  It  is  this  class  of  men  that  has  made  railroad- 
ing in  America  what  it  is  to-day.  From  this  body  has 
sprung  the  staff  of  officials  which,  on  our  older  roads,  has 
worked  out  the  art  of  transportation  into  a  science  ;  and 
there  is  a  community  of  feeling  between  such  officers  and 
such  men,  a  sentiment  of  mutual  respect,  and  I  will  add 
of  my  own  knowledge,  of  personal  regard  and  affection 
which  can  only  be  paralleled  by  the  comradeship  among 
old  soldiers.  Indeed,  it  arises  from  the  same  kind  of  as- 
sociation in  hours  of  fatigue,  of  anxiety,  of  peril,  which 
makes  men  know  each  other  better  than  they  would  in 
years  of  ordinary  business  intercourse.  This  is  the  sort  of 
experience  which  I  know  many  of  you  have  been  through 
who  are  here  to-night,  and  as  you  look  around  this  room 
you  can  recognize  just  such  men  of  your  own  acquaintance, 
tried  men  and  true,  men  who  would  be  found  dead  doing 
their  duty.  They  are  the  backbone  of  your  railroad  ser- 
vice, they  do  honor  to  the  name  of  railroad  men  and  they 
are  the  ones  whom  you  should  ever  keep  before  your  minds 
as  examples  to  follow,  you  young  men  whose  characters 
are  yet  to  be  formed  and  whose  reputations  are  yet  to  be 
made. 

There  is  another  class  of  railroad  men  of  whom  T  must 
speak  in  different  terms  ;  adventurous  and  restless  of  mind, 
ever  ready  to  roam  from  place  to  place,  impatient  of  re- 


C 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  275 

proof  and  of  control.  Men  of  this  disposition  in  the  past 
found  employment  on  newly  constructed  roads,  often  in 
such  numbers  as  to  lower  the  standard  of  efficiency  and 
by  their  carelessness  and.  recklessness  to  bring  the  name 
of  railroad  men  into  reproach.  Such  men  are  bad  ex- 
amples to  follow,  yet  by  reason  of  their  self-assertion  and 
of  their  readiness  to  appeal  to  the  passions  and  prejudices 
of  their  associates  they  often  exert  a  more  powerful  influ- 
ence over  their  younger  companions  than  is  obtained  by 
the  solid  and  worthy  men  who  go  quietly  along  about  their 
business  and  have  but  little  to  say. 

Against  men  of  this  class  I  would  put  you  young  men 
on  your  guard.  It  may  seem  well  enough  to  you  at  the 
time,  when  you  have  some  grievance  either  fancied  or 
real,  for  such  a  man  to  advise  you  to  get  even  with  the 
official  who  has  given  you  offense,  but  he  appeals  to  your 
temper  and  not  to  your  judgment.  He  is  playing  the 
devil's  part,  inciting  you  to  unkind  feeling  and  perhaps 
to  evil  doing,  not  that  you  may  be  bettered  but  that  you 
may  become  like  unto  himself.  Well  do  the  Scriptures 
say  that  evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners. 
They  corrupt  the  course  of  your  habits  and  thoughts  and 
acts  at  the  very  sources  whence  they  spring  in  your  own 
minds.  A  man  is  within  himself  just  what  he  makes  him- 
self, but  unfortunately  many  of  us  only  find  this  out  after 
we  have  become  so  set  in  our  feelings  and  in  our  prejudices 
that  it  is  too  late  to  change  very  much  for  the  better. 

I  say  to  you,  from  my  own  experience,  that  while  you 
are  young  you  should  endeavor  to  feel  kindly  towards  those 
who  are  around  you  and  over  you.  Make  allowances  for 
their  shortcomings  when,  under  momentary  irritation, 
they  speak  harshly  to  you  or  do  something  which  you 
feel  is  unjust  and  you  will  find  that  the  effort  to  control 
your  speech  and  your  thoughts  will  often  serve  you  in 
good  stead  and  be  of  increasing  value  to  you  as  you  grow 
older.  I  have  known  what  it  was  myself  to  be  treated 
harshly  and  unjustly  by  my  superiors,  and  have  h^d  reason 


V 


2«(j  AMERICAN    RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT, 

to  regret  that  I  had  not  then  some  one  to  give  the  advice 
which  I  now  give  to  you.  No  good  comes  of  airing  your 
views  when  you  think  that  you  have  heen  badly  treated  ; 
your  violent  language  may  amuse  those  who  hear  it  or  be 
carried  by  tale-bearers  where  it  will  be  used  to  your  det- 
riment. Keep  your  feelings  to  yourself.  Wait  until  you 
have  cooled  down,  then  think  over  what  happened  and  see 
whether  you  were  not  in  some  way  to  blame  or  seemed  to 
be  so.  In  a  short  time  the  matter  will  have  passed  out  of 
your  mind,  or  at  least  have  lost  much  of  its  importance 
and  you  will,  perhaps,  have  saved  your  job.  Above  all 
you  will  have  acquired  that  habit  of  self-control,  which  is 
at  the  foundation  of  success  in  life,  either  in  the  family 
circle  or  among  your  acquaintances  and  friends  or  in  busi- 
ness, whether  you  are  an  employer  or  an  employee.  Look 
around  among  the  older  men  on  the  road  and  see  if  the 
more  successful  among  them  are  not  remarkable  for  their 
self-control. 

It  is  another  characteristic  of  this  class  of  men  that  they 
attend  closely  to  their  own  business  and  very  little  to  that 
of  other  people.  Whatever  they  have  to  do,  they  do  as 
well  as  they  know  how.  They  do  not  slight  it  nor  attempt 
to  get  off  by  doing  just  as  little  as  will  pass  muster.  Next 
to  self-control  I  place,  as  an  element  of  success,  the  quality 
of  thoroughness.  If  your  employer  finds  when  he  puts 
you  to  do  an3^thing  that  he  does  not  have  to  follow  you  u]) 
to  see  whether  it  is  being  done  properly,  he  will  not  forget 
it ;  nor  will  he  forget  you  when  he  has  a  vacant  place  that 
requires  just  such  a  man  to  fill  it.  Do  not  be  afraid  that 
you  will  do  more  than  is  expected  of  you.  The  way  to 
learn  is  to  do  everything  that  comes  to  hand.  If  a  man 
with  whom  you  are  placed  as  a  helper  is  willing  for  you 
to  do  your  own  work  and  his  too,  look  upon  it  as  a  good 
opportunity  to  learn,  and  not  as  putting  something  on  your 
which  you  will  avoid,  if  possible.  A  man  learns  his  busi- 
ness in  two  ways,  by  getting  practice  in  it  and  by  gaining 
information,     I  have  just  said  that  the  way  to  get  prac- 


MISCELLAKEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ET'^.  277 

tice  is  by  doing  anything  that  comes  to  hand  where  you 
are  employed.  You  will  gain  information  by  listening  to 
those  who  have  had  more  experience  than  yourself.  You 
can  learn  much  in  a  practical  way  from  men  who  under- 
stand their  business  that  you  cannot  obtain  from  books. 

N'ot  that  I  would  have  you  to  undervalue  books.  They 
contain  all  that  remains  of  the  minds  of  those  who  have 
gone  before  us,  and,  as  time  goes  on,  that  which  in  any  art 
was  at  first  known  only  by  those  who  were  expert  in  it, 
becomes  stored  up  in  books.  This  is  especially  true  of 
the  arts  peculiar  to  the  operation  of  railroads.  We  are 
only  separated  by  one  generation  from  the  men  who  built 
the  first  railroads  and  the  first  locomotives,  so  that  the 
time  has  been  rather  short  in  which  to  gather  much  prac- 
tical knowledge  about  railroads  into  books.  In  fact, 
the  arts  connected  with  railroads  have  developed  so  rapidly 
that  much  which  the  books  do  contain  is  already  out  of 
date.  So  far  as  your  every-day  work  is  concerned,^  the 
information  of  most  value  is  found  in  the  current  periodi- 
cals. 

There  is  yet  another  way  in  which  your  stock  of  infor- 
mation may  be  increased  besides  reading  and  listening  to 
your  elders ;  that  is,  by  discussion  among  yourselves. 
There  is  no  better  way  of  finding  out  what  you  do  not  know 
than  by  endeavoring  to  enlighten  others  as  to  what  you 
do  know.  If  I  wanted  to  advance  a  party  of  young  men 
in  the  knowledge  of  their  business,  I  should  advise  them 
to  organize  a  conversation  club.  At  each  meeting  a 
member,  in  turn,  should  read  a  paper  on  some  subject 
connected  with  their  business  and  the  others  should  ques- 
tion him.  The  membership  should  not  be  so  great  as  to 
make  the  proceedings  formal,  for  many  persons  are  shy 
about  standing  up  to  talk  who  will  speak  very  intelligently 
in  conversation,  and  it  is  surprising  how  much  information 
can  be  drawn  out  of  men  who  are  too  modest  for  orators. 

What  I  have  said  to  you  so  far  has  been  with  a  view  to 
your  advancement  in  the  occupation  which  you  follow. 


278  AMERICAN   IIAILVVAY    MAKAGEMENT. 

T  have  endeavored  to  impress  upon  yon  that  with  the 
cessation  of  the  rapid  increase  of  railroad  mileage  there  is 
also  a  cessation  in  the  demand  for  new  men.  It  is  no 
longer  a  question  of  finding  men  to  fill  the  vacant  places, 
but  of  places  for  men  who  are  out  of  employment.  In  the 
struggle  then  for  promotion  he  who  is  the  best  equipped 
will  be  the  most  successful  and  the  winner  in  the  contest 
will  not  be  one  who  is  ready  to  find  fault,  who  is  disposed 
to  slight  his  work  and  who  is  least  informed  as  to  how  it 
should  be  done.  But  I  have  something  to  say  not  only 
as  to  the  opportunities  and  the  requirements  for  promo- 
tion in  railroad  service,  but  also  as  to  the  future  outlook 
for  those  so  employed.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  rail- 
road men  receive  better  wages  than  are  paid  in  other  oc- 
cupations. So  long  as  railroad  men  were  in  demand,  this 
might  well  be  so  ;  but  times  are  changing  in  this  respect. 
Not  only  has  the  period  of  rapid  expansion  passed,  but  we 
have  reached  a  period  of  depression  which  has  seriously 
afl'ected  railroad  earnings.  Although  over  one-half  of  the 
railroad  shares  in  this  country  is  receiving  no  dividends, 
and  less  than  one-sixth  is  receiving  as  much  as  five  per 
cent.,  those  who  are  best  informed  think  that  there  is  worse 
yet  to  come. 

Whenever  the  wages  in  any  occupation,  by  reason  of  the 
scarcity  of  suitable  men,  rise  above  the  average,  many  are 
eager  to  be  so  employed  and  the  supply  soon  exceeds  the 
demand.  So  long  as  that  business  continues  to  pay  well 
on  the  money  invested  in  it,  employers  are  willing  to  pay 
the  regular  rates  even  though  men  are  in  plenty.  But 
when  profits  diminish,  employers  try  to  reduce  expenses. 
They  must  reduce  them  within  their  earnings  or  fail  in 
business  themselves.  This  is  about  what  is  taking  place 
on  railroads.  When  the  first  roads  were  built  they  were 
hailed  as  a  s^reat  public  benefit.  E^^erybody  did  well  by 
reason  of  the  railroads  and  no  one  begrudged  the  stock- 
holders their  dividends.  But  just  as  it  is  with  men  rush- 
ing into  occupations  which  pay  well,  so  it  was  with  railroad 


MISCELLANt:OUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  2'J'd 

building.  The  business  was  overdone,  competition  fol- 
lowed and  rates  were  cut,  but  not  enough  to  suit  the  farm- 
ers^ who  saw  the  prices  of  their  products  going  down, 
nor  the  manufacturers,  who  were  trying  to  undersell  each 
other.  So  there  has  been  a  constant  effort  to  force  down 
rates,  either  by  the  railroad  companies  competing  among 
themselves  or  by  their  customers  where  there  was  no  rail- 
road competition. 

It  is  this  which  has  led  to  so  much  legislation  against 
railroads  and  which  has  made  it  so  easy  for  politicians  to 
get  office  by  abuse  of  them.  It  is  the  old  story  over  again 
of  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  eggs,  though  the  eggs 
laid  by  the  railroad  goose  have  not  all  gone  to  the  public 
and  to  the  stockholders.  A  good  part  of  them  has  gone 
to  the  employees.  It  is  stated  that  for  every  dollar  paid 
in  dividends  four  dollars  go  to  them.  I  mention  this  only 
to  show  how  closely  identified  are  the  interests  of  the  rail- 
road man  and  the  company  which  employs  him  ;  that  any 
change  in  the  future  which  is  bad  for  the  company  will  be 
bad  for  him,  and  that  the  prospect  for  neither  is  very  en- 
couraging. It  follows  that  the  questions  which  are  being 
agitated  all  over  the  land  about  railroad  rates  and  laws 
affecting  them,  are  of  great  moment  to  those  whose  daily 
bread  is  earned  on  railroads,  and  railroad  men  should 
therefore  take  an  interest  in  them  and  try  to  have  an  intel- 
ligent understanding  of  them.  For,  happily  for  your- 
selves, you  live  in  a  country  where  one  man's  vote  in  the 
ballot  box  is  as  good  as  another's,  and  if  others  seek  in  that 
way  to  have  their  interests  cared  for,  it  is  your  right  to  do 
likewise. 

And  this  brings  to  the  front  another  view  of  the  present 
situation  which  I  would  impress  upon  you,  you  who  are 
American  citizens  and  who  enjoy  greater  privileges  and 
live  in  greater  comfort  than  any  people  in  any  other 
country  or  in  any  other  age.  This  is  partly  due  to  the 
wisdom  and  the  virtue  of  those  illustrious  men  who  laid 
the  foundations  of  our  liberties  and  whose  names  and 


280  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

deeds  should  ever  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  us, 
who  now  are  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  labors.  It  is 
also  partly  due  to  our  wonderful  resources  of  soil  and 
climate.  This  combination  of  men  and  means  has  made 
our  country  great.  It  has  attracted  millions  of  men  across 
the  seas  with  strong  arms  and  stout  hearts,  who  have 
cleared  the  forests  and  sowed  the  fields  and  built  the  roads 
and  opened  the  mines  and  wrought  in  shops  and  factories, 
until  now  we  have  attained  the  foremost  place  among  the 
nations  for  wealth  and  population.  Within  a  century  all 
this  has  been  accomplished  from  humble  beginnings,  not 
only  as  to  means  but  as  to  men.  There  was  no  accumu- 
lation of  capital  to  begin  with  and  the  work  was  not  done 
by  high  born  gentlemen.  The  beginnings  were  made 
by  men  whose  early  training  had  taught  them  industry  and 
economy,  and  who,  by  practicing  those  homely  virtues, 
were  enabled  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities  which 
offered  for  the  investment  of  their  savings  as  the  resources 
of  our  country  were  being  so  rapidly  developed. 

This  stage  in  our  history  has  passed  away.  The  public 
domain  has  been  divided.  The  vast  forests  are  disappear- 
ing. Great  cities  no  longer  spring  up,  as  it  were,  in  a 
night.  The  wonderful  deposits  of  gold  and  silver,  of  coal 
and  iron,  of  petroleum  and  natural  gas,  seem  all  to  have 
been  discovered.  The  pursuit  of  wealth  is  no  longer  a  lot- 
tery. The  prizes  have  all  been  drawn  and  the  coming 
generation  must  settle  down  to  earn  a  living  somewhat  as 
their  European  cousins  do.  The  lavish  display,  the  waste- 
fulness, the  contemptuous  disregard  of  small  economies 
characteristic  of  our  people  can  not  be  much  longer  per- 
sisted in  without  lessening  the  comfort  in  which  they  live. 
For  the  increase  in  our  population  is  gaining  on  our  re- 
sources, and  as  the  one  neaxs  the  other  it  will  be  harder 
to  maintain  the  present  average  income  of  each  family. 
Already  the  farmers  have  felt  it ;  it  is  coming  closer  to 
the  laboring  man,  to  the  mechanic  and  to  the  clerk,  and 
the  railroad  man  will  feel  it  too. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  281 

And  here  is  where  I  think  that  the  railroad  man  is  the 
more  fortunate,  inasmuch  as  he  is  surer  of  steady  employ- 
ment. In  the  fluctuations  that  take  place  in  other  oc- 
cupations, shops  and  factories  are  liable  to  be  shut  down, 
goods  of  different  kinds  become  unfashionable  and  their 
manufacture  ceases  to  be  profitable,  but  so  long  as  men 
travel  and  freight  is  shipped  so  long  will  the  railroad 
companies  need  every  steady  man  in  their  service.  The 
experience  which  they  have  acquired,  their  knowledge  of 
the  little  details  which  makes  the  work  go  along  all  right, 
their  familiarity  with  the  conditions  under  which  that 
work  is  done,  all  make  these  men  of  such  value  that  they 
will  be  parted  with  reluctantly.  We  see  this  exemplified 
in  the  confusion  and  disorder  that  prevails  when  there  is 
a  strike  and  the  work  is  done  by  strangers,  as  also  in  the 
rapidity  with  which  everything  gets  to  working  smoothly 
when  the  strike  is  off  and  the  old  men  are  back  in  their 
places. 

It  is  this  which  assures  to  the  railroad  man  greater  se- 
curity for  steady  employment  than  in  other  occupations. 
He  does  not  have  to  be  taught.  He  knows  his  business 
and  his  employers  recognize  it.  He  has  all  the  value  that 
a  drilled  man,  a  veteran  soldier,  has  in  the  army.  Indeed, 
the  men  in  railroad  service  constitute  a  great  industrial 
army,  and  as  much  of  the  organization  of  an  army  has  been 
unconsciously  adapted  to  the  necessities  of  railroad  oper- 
ations, in  time  some  plan  will  be  worked  out  for  ensuring 
steady  employment  and  for  caring  for  the  faithful,  worn- 
out  veteran  in  railroad  life  as  in  military  life.  If  faithful 
service  justifies  such  care  and  consideration  in  the  one 
case,  it  certainly  does  in  the  other. 

And  now  while  wages  are  good  and  you  have  steady 
employment  is  the  time  to  practice  thrift,  to  observe  those 
precepts  which  have  perpetuated  the  memory  of  Franklin 
and  which,  at  last,  lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  prosperity  of 
every  country.  For  a  nation  of  paupers  is  a  pauper 
nation.     What  a  people  should  first  economize  in  is  its  so- 


282  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMEKT. 

called  pleasures.  I  say  so-called  as  distinguished  from  those 
which  are  pleasures  indeed — the  pleasures  of  home  and  of 
neighborly  association  ;  the  pleasure  of  doing  good  to 
others  and  of  improving  one's  mind.  But  the  trifling 
amusements  and  habits  which  take  time  and  money  and 
leave  behind  either  nothing  or  that  which  is  injurious  ! 
I  do  not  intend  to  be  personal,  but  how  many  of  your  ac- 
quaintances can  take  to  themselves  the  fable  of  the  grass- 
hopper and  the  ant  ?  How  many  that  could  not  live  upon 
their  own  resources  even  for  one  month  if  out  of  employ- 
ment ! 

The  French  are  sometimes  termed  a  frivolous  people. 
They  have  no  broad  prairies  waving  with  golden  grain 
nor  fields  white  with  cotton  ;  no  forests  of  valuable  tim- 
ber nor  mines  of  precious  metals  nor  stores  of  petroleum. 
Their  primeval  patrimony  was  wasted  ages  ago.  Yet  the 
enormous  war  indemnity  of  one  thousand  million  dollars 
was  said  to  have  come  out  of  the  old  stockings  of  the  peas- 
antry, and  they  saved  enough  afterward  to  put  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  millions  more  into  the  Panama  Canal. 
Why  should  such  a  people  be  termed  frivolous  ?  And 
what  an  example  to  us  who  are  so  much  more  favorably 
situated  ! 

T  have  spoken  of  time  wasted  in  idle  amusements.  It 
is  a  waste  of  that  which  is  more  precious  than  money. 
If  each  of  us  had  received  at  birth  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  to  last  for  a  lifetime  of  seventy  years  and  we  were 
to  throw  away  one  dollar  each  day,  at  the  end  of  the 
seventy  years  we  should  have  wasted  the  last  dollar.  Call 
each  day  of  your  life  a  dollar  and  you  will  be  impressed 
with  the  value  of  time  to  each  human  being.  If  two  men 
of  equal  ability  and  with  equal  opportunities  work  the 
one  eight  and  the  other  ten  hours  a  day,  the  latter  will 
accomplish  one-fourth  more  than  the  former.  I  am  not 
advocating:  a  life  of  constant  toil.  The  ideal  existence  is 
one  in  which  the  struggle  for  a  livelihood  does  not  exclude 
recreation.     But  recreation  is  another  thins^  than   idle 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  283 

amusement.  Eecreation  means  re-creation,  a  renewal  of 
the  stores  of  physical  and  mental  vitality  which  have  been 
expended  in  work.  It  includes  food  and  rest  and  exercise 
for  mind  and  body  ;  good  food  and  undisturbed  rest  and 
agreeable  exercise.  These  we  seek  either  in  our  homes 
or  elsewhere,  and  it  is  well  for  those  who  get  the  best  of 
each.  Outside  of  your  family  circle  where  could  you  find 
better  than  that  which  is  here  provided  ?  I  was  surprised, 
when  I  was  shown  through  this  building  by  Mr.  Warbur- 
ton,  to  see  what  provision  had  been  made  for  that  which  I 
have  just  defined  as  recreation,  that  is,  food  and  exercise 
for  body  and  mind.  That  part  which  relates  to  the  body 
I  shall  not  dwell  upon,  but  that  which  relates  to  the  mind 
has  such  importance  in  my  eyes  that  I  must,  in  conclusion, 
say  something  more  about  it. 

The  mind  is  the  immortal  part  of  man.  It  lives  in  the 
Bible  and  in  the  writings  of  the  poets  and  historians  and 
philosophers  whose  life  work  graces  the  shelves  of  every 
library  and  family  circle  in  every  country  which  has  a 
WTitten  language.  As  we  read  what  they  have  written, 
our  minds  are  carried  away  from  and  above  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  every-day  life  and  a  new  existence  is  opened  up 
to  us  ;  one  that  we  enjoy  in  common  with  those  who  have 
written  and  those  who  have  read  these  immortal  works. 
This  is  the  repast  that  is  set  out  before  you  on  these  library 
shelves,  a  banquet  which  every  one  can  hope  to  share  who 
can  read  the  language  in  which  they  are  printed.  And 
beside  this  pure  enjoyment,  an  enjoyment  of  which  the 
mind  never  tires,  there  is  the  opportunity  for  improve- 
ment, for  adding  stores  of  knowledge  to  that  which  you 
have  already  acquired  by  experience  and  by  observation. 
A  wise  man  has  said  that  we  should  know  everything  about 
something  and  something  about  everything.  The  some- 
thing about  which  you  should  know  everything  is  that 
by  which  you  earn  your  bread,  and  that  part  of  it  which 
can  be  learned  from  books  is  here  at  hand,  so  convenient 
that  it  is  your  own  fault  if  you  do  not  seek  it.     You  need 


284  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

no  great  amount  of  learning  to  undertake  it.  If  you  can 
read  and  write  and  perform  the  four  ground  rules  of 
arithmetic  you  can  learn  all  that  is  necessary  for  a  railroad 
man  to  know  from  a  track  hand  to  the  president. 

If  you  are  in  roadway  service  you  should  understand 
how  grades  and  curves  and  earthwork  are  staked  out,  how 
frogs  and  switches  are  put  in  and  curves  are  elevated  ; 
something  about  the  strains  in  a  bridge  and  their  distribu- 
tion among  its  several  members.  If  you  are  on  an  engine, 
do  not  let  everything  about  it  remain  as  a  sealed  book  to 
you,  except  to  shovel  coal  or  pull  the  throttle  or  tell  water 
from  steam.  A  locomotive  is  one  of  the  most  ingenious 
machines  that  the  mind  of  man  has  conceived  or  his  hand 
has  wrought,  and  the  men  who  ride  on  it  daily  should  not 
only  know  how  to  handle  it,  how  to  take  it  apart  and  put 
it  together,  but  should  also  comprehend  the  principles  in- 
volved in  the  combustion  of  fuel  and  the  peculiar  prop- 
erties of  water,  its  evaporation  into  steam,  its  expansion 
and  condensation.  The  compound  engine  is  likely  to 
play  an  important  part  hereafter  on  railroads,  and  is  a  sub- 
ject which  may  well  demand  your  attention.  Or  if  you 
are  a  mechanic,  either  in  a  car  shop  or  a  locomotive  shop, 
whether  you  work  in  wood  or  metals,  there  is  much  going 
on  around  you  that  calls  for  head-work  as  well  as  hand- 
work, and  every  mechanic  has  in  him  the  making  of  a 
mechanical  engineer,  if  he  will  add  book  knowledge  to 
his  knowledge  of  his  trade.  Or  if  you  are  a  train  man 
or  a  yard  man,  your  rule  book  is  not  the  only  book  that 
may  be  of  use  to  you.  You  are  daily  employed  in  con- 
nection with  two  devices  which  are  all  important.  I  speak 
of  couplers  and  train  brakes,  and  a  thoughtful,  observant 
man,  situated  as  you  are,  might  well  work  out  some  useful 
improvements  of  these  devices.  Are  you  a  telegraph  oper- 
ator or  signal  man  ?  If  so,  then  the  mechanism  under 
your  touch  embodies  one  or  both  of  two  forces  which  are 
destined  to  yet  further  and  greater  development,  electricity 
and  compressed  air.     Or  if  you  are  in  the  traffic  depart- 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  285 

ment,  that  network  which  involves  in  its  tangled  meshes 
the  revenue  which  is  the  life  blood  of  a  railroad,  you 
should  familiarize  yourself  with  the  economic  arguments 
which  properly  apply  to  the  making  of  rates.  If  you  are 
in  any  of  the  bureaus  which  constitute  the  general  man- 
agement, you  are  near  the  focus  in  which  all  information 
is  concentrated  and  whence  instruction  is  distributed,  and 
you  have  before  you  a  field  for  fascinating  investigation 
into  the  resources  and  expenses  of  railroad  operation. 

So  view  as  you  may  the  occupations  incidental  to  rail- 
road service,  and  there  are  none  of  them  in  which  the  mind 
does  not  play  a  prominent  part  unless  a  man  is  content 
to  be  a  mere  cog  in  the  wheel,  an  appendage  to  the  ma- 
chine which  he  tends.  Need  such  be  the  destiny  of  any 
one  in  this  audience  ?  Is  there  any  reason  for  lacking 
the  knowledge  required  in  any  branch  of  your  business  ; 
for  the  cultivation  or  rational  recreation  of  your  minds 
and  bodies  ?  Look  around  you  and  let  this  building 
answer  and  the  facilities  which  it  affords  !  And  if  ex- 
perience should  show  that  these  are  in  any  respect  de- 
ficient, rest  assured  that  the  same  liberal  hand,  the  same 
clear  head,  the  same  sympathetic  heart  which  have  brought 
this  Eailroad  Men's  Building  into  existence  and  have  pro- 
vided for  its  recent  enlargement  will  be  equal  to  any 
further  demands  that  may  grow  out  of  the  general  ac- 
ceptance of  its  advantages  by  those  for  whom  they  are  in- 
tended, by  the  employees  of  the  New  York  Central  and 
Hudson  Eiver  Railroad  Company. 


286  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 


THE  KOAD  MASTER  AND  THE  TRACK  FOREMAN. 

(Address  delivered  at  tlie  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Roadmasters'  Asso- 
ciation of  America  in  Tammany  Hall,  September  11,  1894.) 

I  am  here  to-day  to  address  you  briefly,  in  response  to 
the  invitation  of  your  President  and  my  friend.  I  do  so 
with  the  greater  pleasure  because  of  the  honor  which  your 
Association  has  conferred  on  the  railroad  system  which  I 
represent  in  having  twice  selected  its  President  and  twice 
its  Secretary  from  among  our  roadway  officials. 

As  I  look  around  this  hall,  I  am  reminded  by  the  sun- 
burnt faces  and  stalwart  forms  before  me,  that  this  is' 
not  an  association  of  book  men,  that  you  have  served  an 
apprenticeship  of  exposure  to  the  heat  of  summer  and  to 
the  chilling  blasts  of  winter ;  that  through  years  of 
arduous  service,  by  day  and  by  night,  you  have,  step  by 
step,  earned  that  promotion  which  has  entitled  you  to  seats 
in  this  assemblage. 

The  engineer  and  the  conductor,  when  they  have  fin- 
ished their  daily  runs,  know  that  their  work  for  that  day 
is  done.  The  office  man  as  he  rises  from  his  desk  and 
closes  his  books,  thinks  of  them  no  more  until  the  mor- 
row. But  the  track  foreman,  the  supervisor,  the  road 
master,  take  their  responsibility  home  with  them  to  their 
firesides,  never  knowing  when  they  may  be  summoned  to 
face  the  raging  tempest  or  the  driving  snow  storm  to  make 
sure  that  the  swiftly  speeding  train  shall  safely  reach  its 
destination. 

And  when  we  think  of  the  number  of  rails  and  ties,  of 
angle-plates,  bolts,  nuts  and  spikes  that  make  up  even 
one  mile  of  track  ;  that  a  defect  in  any  one  of  them  may 
lead  to  serious  accident  and  that  the  trackman's  responsi- 
bility covers  an  inspection  of  each  of  these  many  parts 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  287 

for  many  miles,  as  well  as  of  frogs  and  switches,  of  bridges, 
culverts  and  crossings,  we  recognize  that  he  must  be 
trained  not  only  to  a  close  observation  of  details  but  also 
to  an  almost  ceaseless  vigilance.  Training  means  discipline 
and  in  no  department  of  railway  operations  is  strict  dis- 
cipline more  requisite  than  in  roadway  service.  Indeed, 
it  seems  to  spring  spontaneously  from  the  character  of  the 
employment,  so  arduous,  so  exacting,  that  the  stern  en- 
forcement of  duty  comes  to  be  a  part,  as  it  were,  of  the 
very  nature  of  those  who  have  charge  of  the  work  in  that 
department. 

A  trackman's  life  is,  to  a  great  extent,  an  isolated  one. 
From  dawn  to  eve  he  plods  along,  remote  from  intercourse 
with  the  outside  world  and  but  occasionally  interupted 
by  a  passing  train.  Thus  communing  with  himself  and 
trained  to  habits  of  vigilance  and  observation  he  is,  as 
might  be  expected,  intensely  practical ;  so  much  so,  in 
fact,  as  to  become  a  trifle  dogmatic.  He  feels  sure  that 
his  way  of  doing  things  is  best,  since  he  but  seldom  sees 
how  they  are  done  by  others  and  he  carries  that  feeling 
along  with  him  as  he  advances  in  his  line  of  promotion. 

Hence  it  is  that  association  with  others  of  his  kind  is 
of  benefit  to  him.  For  as  he  exchanges  opinions  and  ex- 
periences with  them,  each  finds  that  the  others  do  some 
things  in  a  better  way  than  he  has  been  doing  them  and 
there  is  an  advance  all  along  the  horizon  of  progress. 

There  is  another  view  to  take  of  the  value  of  your  tech- 
nical association,  and  that  is  of  the  opportunity  which  it 
affords  for  bringing  together,  face  to  face,  those  who  have 
gained  their  information  originally,  the  one  by  hard  labor  ; 
the  other,  in  the  schools.  These  two  are  like  the  two 
knights  who  approached  from  opposite  directions,  the 
shield  suspended  in  the  road.  One  declared  it  was  made 
of  silver,  the  other  that  it  was  of  gold.  From  words  they 
got  to  blows,  and  it  was  only  after  they  had  clubbed  each 
other  to  exhaustion  that  they  fouiid  that  each  was  only 
half  right. 


28S  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

Here  is  the  place  for  you  to  club  each  other  with  sound 
arguments  and  solid  facts  until  you  have  reached  results 
which  both  sides  will  accept  as  true.  In  this  way  you  will 
arrive  at  correct  conclusions  upon  many  questions  about 
which  there  are  differences  of  opinion  and  you  will  keep 
in  line  with  the  march  of  improvement. 

As  occasion  offers  for  each  to  see  w^hat  the  others  are  do- 
ing, you  will  find  that,  under  similar  conditions,  you  are 
gradually  approaching  uniform  methods  ;  that  is,  that  in 
your  practice  you  are  becoming  more  theoretical — for  by 
theory  is  meant  an  intelligent  conception  of  principles 
derived  from  a  correct  observation  of  facts. 

There  is  a  continual  demand  upon  railroad  manage- 
ments for  better  service,  the  foundation  for  which  is  pro- 
vided by  the  department  under  your  charge.  That  which 
answered  for  light  engines  at  low  speeds  will  not  serve 
for  the  monsters  of  to-day,  rushing  through  space  with 
their  long  trains  behind  them.  The  random,  slip-shod 
ways  of  former  years  are  being  replaced  by  more  precise 
methods,  and  he  who  does  not  keep  in  touch  with  those 
ahead  of  him,  will  surely  be  left  by  the  wayside. 

If  you  bear  this  in  mind  in  your  Association  you  will 
investigate  every  feature  of  roadway  practice,  gathering 
facts  for  your  discussions  and  in  your  discussions,  throw- 
ing light  on  the  dark  places.  In  doing  this,  there  is  one 
feature  of  growing  importance  to  which  I  would  direct 
your  attention,  that  of  block  signals  and  interlocking 
switches.  This  subject  has  attained  far  greater  develop- 
ment in  Europe  than  in  this  country.  But  as  our  traffic 
increases  and  our  trains  are  more  frequent,  as  our  pas- 
senger stations  and  freight  yards  are  enlarged,  the  neces- 
sity becomes  the  greater  for  adopting  these  improvements. 
But  the  system  as  developed  in  Europe,  where  the  roads 
are  mostly  double  tracked,  the  permanent  way  expensively 
constructed  and  labor  cheap,  must  be  greatly  modified  to 
suit  this  country  whefe  perhaps  not  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
mileage  is  double  track  and  labor  is  much  better  paid. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  289 

And  now,  gentlemen,  if  I  have  not  been  quite  as  brief 
as  I  led  yon  to  expect,  it  is  because  of  my  interest  in  the 
matters  which  you  have  in  hand  ;  an  interest  so  great  that 
I  can  hardly  refrain  from  enlarging  yet  further  upon 
them  and  upon  your  responsibility  with  respect  to  them, 
I  know  that  you  feel  that  your  efforts  are  inadequately 
appreciated  by  those  who  have  not  had  the  training  that 
you  and  I  have  had. 

Still  you  should  continue  to  press  onward  and  upward 
in  the  career  that  you  have  chosen,  contented  for  the  pres- 
ent with  the  consciousness  of  duty  well  performed,  trusting 
that  in  due  time  the  value  of  your  work  will  be  more 
generally  recognized. 

In  this  connection  you  cannot  overrate  the  advantage 
to  you  of  membership  in  the  Eoadmasters'  Association  of 
America  so  long  as  each  and  every  one  of  you  does  his 
part  to  make  it  a  success. 


290  AMERICAN^   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 


ADDRESS   AT   THE   AJSTNUAL   DINNER   OF   THE 
WESTERN  RAILWAY  CLUB. 

(Chicago,  111.,  Tuesday.  September  17,  1895.) 

I  have  come  1,000  miles  to  be  with  you  here  to-night, 
more  from  my  desire  to  meet  the  gentlemen  who  have 
made  the  Western  Railway  Club  a  success  than  with  the 
idea  that  what  I  may  have  to  say  about  the  International 
Railway  Congress  is  worth  coming  so  far  to  tell  ;  but  be 
that  as  it  may,  time  is  flying  and  I  will  not  waste  it  with 
much  of  a  preamble. 

The  International  Railway  Congress  was  organized 
about  ten  years  ago  by  the  railway  administrations  of  Con- 
tinental Europe.  Its  meetings  have  been  held  two  or 
three  years  apart  at  Brussels,  Milan,  in  Paris,  during  the 
exposition  of  1890,  and  in  1892  at  St.  Petersburg.  As 
the  state  railway  administrations  are  members,  its  meetings 
have  received  marked  recognition  from  the  governments 
of  the  different  countries  in  which  they  have  been  held, 
and  when  it  was  determined  to  hold  the  meeting  this  year 
in  London,  the  British  government  joined  with  the  rail- 
way managements  to  make  the  occasion  a  notable  success. 

The  permanent  administration  is  established  in  Brussels, 
though  the  members  of  the  International  Commission  are 
selected  from  the  different  countries  which  are  represented 
in  the  congress.  This  commission  prepares  a  program  of 
questions  to  be  considered  at  each  meeting,  sometimes  in 
advance  of  the  date  at  which  the  meeting  is  held.  Each 
subject  is  assigned  to  a  competent  person  to  obtain  the 
information  concerning  it  from  the  members,  and  to  put 
the  same  in  proper  form  for  distribution  in  advance  of  the 
meetings.     For  the  discussion  of  these  papers  the  members 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  291 

at  the  meeting  are  divided  into  sections  on  permanent 
way,  equipment,  train  and  station  service,  etc. 

The  official  language  of  the  congress  is  French,  though 
it  is  permitted  to  use  the  language  of  the  country  in  which 
the  meeting  is  held.  Whatever  is  said  in  either  language 
is  briefly  translated  into  the  other  by  official  interpreters. 
These  discussions  duly  edited  in  connection  with  the 
papers  which  led  to  them,  appear  in  the  proceedings,  which 
are  also  published  in  the  two  languages,  and  generally 
amount  to  three  or  four  ponderous  quartos.  So  much  for 
the  organization  of  the  congress. 

Before  the  recent  meeting  but  little  interest  had  been 
taken  in  it  by  American  railroad  officials.  Mr.  Ely  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  a  few  others  had  attended  some 
of  the  previous  meetings,  and  when  it  was  decided  to  meet 
this  year  in  London  they  aroused  sufficient  interest  among 
some  other  companies  to  induce  them  also  to  become  mem- 
bers and  to  pave  the  way  for  the  American  Eailway  Asso- 
ciation to  be  represented  by  its  president,  secretary  and 
six  other  delegates,  including  Mr.  Harahan  of  the  Illinois 
Central  road,  and  Mr.  Frey  of  the  Atchison  road. 

So  on  the  12th  of  June  a  party  of  seventeen  started  from 
New  York.  As  but  few  of  us  had  crossed  the  ocean  before 
we  were  rather  a  fresh  lot,  with  much  to  learn,  and  as  we 
found  out  later,  with  some  things  to  unlearn.  On  our  ar- 
rival at  Southampton  we  got  an  intimation  of  what 
awaited  us  in  the  way  of  hospitality  both  from  the  gov- 
ernment and  from  the  railway  officials,  when  we  found 
our  baggage  passed  through  the  custom  house  without 
examination  and  a  special  train  ready  to  take  us  to  London. 

It  was  with  curious  eyes  that  we  viewed  for  the  first 
time  their  toy-like  engines  and  cars,  or,  I  should  say, 
carriages  and  wagons,  but  their  massive  station  buildings, 
retaining  walls,  and  bridges  along  the  line  well  deserved 
the  name  of  permanent  way. 

And  so  we  sped  on  through  green  fields  and  past 
thatched  cottages  and  trim  hedges  and  flocks  of  black- 


293  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

nosed  sheep  that  are  characteristic  of  Southern  England, 
and  into  the  very  heart  of  London  before  we  stopped. 

The  next  day  we  rigged  ourselves  out  in  high  silk  hats 
and  long-tailed  frock  coats  that  we  might  be  in  the  pre- 
vailing style,  for  it  is  a  fact  that  every  true  Briton  arrays 
himself  in  this  panoply  while  in  London,  and  nowhere 
else. 

I  wish  that  I  could  dwell  upon  the  impressions  made 
upon  my  mind  during  my  month^s  stay  in  this  metropolis 
of  the  world.  And  well  may  it  be  so  called,  for  you  will 
see  there  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Bank  of  London  other  in- 
stitutions, such  as  the  Bank  of  Yokohama,  of  Singapore, 
of  Australia,  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  etc.,  representing 
financial  relations  with  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  I  was  told 
that  there  were  then  on  deposit  there  over  $2,000,000,000, 
the  surplus  income  of  British  capitalists  awaiting  profit- 
able investment.  It  made  my  mouth  water  to  think  of 
what  could  be  accomplished  with  such  a  fund  in  our 
country.  But  no  !  for  the  moment.  South  Africa,  with  its 
gold  and  diamond  mines,  attracts  their  attention,  to  the 
exclusion  of  less  brilliant  investments. 

The  sessions  of  the  congress  were  held  in  the  Imperial 
Institute,  where  our  little  band  of  twenty  to  thirty  Ameri- 
cans was  lost  in  an  assemblage  of  700  or  more  Frenchmen, 
Belgians,  Italians,  Austrians  and  Russians,  with  a  few 
Germans  and  an  occasional  Spaniard,  Portuguese,  Japa- 
nese and  Turks. 

But  there  was  a  sufficient  number  of  stalwart,  cheery 
Britons  to  maks  us  feel  at  home,  and  their  hospitality 
was  as  hearty  as  it  was  magnificent.  We  were  provided 
with  credentials  which  opened  to  us  the  doors  of  every  rail- 
road office,  signal  station  and  shop,  and  which  also  served 
as  passes  for  ourselves  and  families  throughout  Great 
Britain  (including  the  underground  railways  in  London) 
and  over  most  of  Europe. 

It  was  considered  a  distinguished  honor  that  the  meet- 
ing was  inaugurated  with  an  address  of  welcome  by  the 


MtSCELLAKEOtJS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  S93 

Prince  of  Wales,  and  then  followed  a  reception  by  the 
Board  of  Trade  at  the  Foreign  Office,  with  a  series  of  ban- 
quets, parties  and  excursions,  w^hich  gave  the  delegates  the 
opportunity  for  an  insight  into  the  social  life  of  Great 
Britain  and  for  hasty  observation  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land,  that  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  but 
few  visitors  there  in  the  same  space  of  time.  As  one  bit 
of  our  experience  I  will  mention  a  garden  party  given  at 
Windsor  Castle  by  the  express  command  of  the  Queen,  at 
which  were  presented  to  Her  Majesty  delegates  from  the 
several  countries  represented  at  the  congress. 

These  recreations  were  intermingled  with  the  work  of 
the  congress.  Of  the  value  of  that  work  to  Americans  I 
can  only  give  my  own  impressions.  The  European  railway 
system,  in  its  methods  and  in  the  apparatus  which  it  em- 
ploys, is  so  dissimilar  to  ours  that  a  discussion  of  its  de- 
tails is  of  but  little  interest  to  American  railroad  men, 
and  that  little  was  rendered  less  because  the  most  part  of 
the  debate  was  carried  on  in  an  unfamiliar  language.  As 
a  consequence  the  American  delegates  were  there  as  look- 
ers-on and  took  but  little  part  in  the  proceedings  ;  though, 
when  those  proceedings  are  published  I  know  that  they 
will  be  of  value  to  those  who  are  interested  in  the  details 
of  European  railway  operations. 

But  there  is  one  point  upon  which  I  wish  to  lay  particu- 
lar stress,  and  that  is  the  evident  lack  of  appreciation 
among  European  railway  officials  of  the  merits  of  Ameri- 
can methods.  This  was  brought  out  forcibly  in  the  dis- 
cussions in  the  section  termed  light  railways. 

They  feel  over  there  that  even  in  those  thickly  popu- 
lated countries  there  are  still  extensive  areas  insufficiently 
provided  with  railroad  facilities  because  the  present  traffic 
will  not  justify  the  cost  of  construction  and  operation  in 
accordance  with  their  recognized  standards,  and  it  was 
evident  that  those  interested  looked  to  the  congress  for  an 
expression  of  opinion  as  to  the  feasibility  of  relaxing  those 
restrictions  for  the  encouragement  of  such  projects. 


294  AMERICAN-  RAILWAY   MAKAGEMENT. 

Here  seemed  to  be  the  opportunity  for  the  application 
of  American  experience.  Yet;,  while  the  information 
offered  by  the  American  delegates  was  received  with  re- 
spect, it  made  no  impression  as  bearing  on  their  own 
necessities. 

This  was  the  great  lesson  that  we  learned  by  onr  pres- 
ence at  the  congress,  that  the  majority  of  the  influential 
railroad  engineers  and  managers  of  Europe  are  not  favorably 
impressed  with  American  practice.  They  recognize  that 
a  few  of  our  trunk  lines  have  approached  the  perfection 
which  they  have  attained  in  Europe,  but  as  to  nine-tenths 
of  our  mileage,  they  look  upon  it  as  what  they  term  "  light 
railways,"  hardly  suitable  for  feeders  for  their  principal 
lines. 

Now,  is  there  not  food  for  thought  in  this  statement  ? 
Is  there  not  among  European  railroad  experts  a  field  for 
some  missionary  work  in  behalf  of  the  American  system  ? 
I  may  be  answered  that  it  is  no  concern  of  ours  to  en- 
lighten our  European  cousins  as  to  how  they  should  con- 
struct and  manage  their  railroads. 

But  there  is  another  view  to  be  taken  of  this  matter  ; 
one  which  is  of  great  importance  to  American  engineers, 
to  American  manufacturers  of  railway  material  and  to 
holders  of  American  railway  securities,  and  to  which  I  call 
your  serious  attention. 

AA^ithin  the  past  thirty  years  there  have  been  more  miles 
of  railway  built  in  this  country  than  the  total  mileage  of 
Europe  to-day.  With  the  aid  afforded  by  that  mileage  the 
population  of  our  country  has,  in  the  meantime,  nearly 
doubled  and  its  exports  have  trebled.  Yet  all  this  has 
been  accomplished  by  methods  which,  in  the  eyes  of  Euro- 
pean railway  managers,  are  substantially  inadmissible,  even 
with  feeders  for  their  main  lines. 

Before  I  attended  the  London  meeting  I  might  have 
thought  that  while  this  was  rather  mortifying  to  our  pride, 
yet  it  was  a  matter  of  no  great  interest  to  us.  But  I  do  not 
now.     It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  say,  let  the  Europeans 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  295 

manage  their  railroads  in  tlieir  way  and  we  will  manage 
ours  in  our  way.  It  might  be^  if  there  were  no  roads  to  be 
built  anywhere  else,  but  the  blessings  of  civilization  are 
yet  to  be  spread  over  two-thirds  of  the  globe,  and  on  what 
systems  shall  the  railways  be  built  that  are  to  carry  them  ? 
The  European  system  is  intended  to  provide  improved 
facilities  for  existing  traffic  ;  the  American  system  to  pro- 
vide facilities  for  creating  the  traffic  itself  ;  and  this  is  the 
work  that  is  to  be  done  in  South  America,  Africa,  Asia 
and  Australia,  while  the  money  to  do  it  with  is  to  be  pro- 
vided from  the  surplus  funds  lying  idle  in  London  and  in 
the  other  great  money  centers  of  Europe.  AVherever  this 
work  is  done  on  the  European  system,  American  methods, 
American  railroad  men  and  American  railway  materials 
are  barred.  Is  it  then  of  no  concern  to  us  to  enlighten 
our  European  professional  brethren  as  to  what  the  Amer- 
ican railway  system  really  is — of  its  greater  adaptability  to 
the  needs  of  a  new  country  than  that  with  which  they  are 
familiar  ?  And  how  can  this  be  better  done  than  by  in- 
viting them  to  come  here  and  see  for  themselves  the  great 
work  that  the  American  system  has  accomplished  ? 

The  next  regular  meeting  of  the  International  Eailway 
Congress  is  to  be  held  in  Paris  during  the  exposition  of 
1900,  but  from  our  conversation  with  the  delegates  at  the 
London  meeting,  I  think  it  probable  that  if  an  invitation 
were  extended  to  the  permanent  administration  to  hold  a 
special  meeting  here  in  advance  of  that  meeting,  it  would 
be  favorably  entertained.  The  w^ork  of  such  a  meeting 
should  be  confined  to  the  study  of  American  practice,  and 
I  feel  sure  that  there  would  be  a  good  attendance  of  those 
prominently  identified  with  railway  construction  in  the 
regions  to  which  I  have  referred.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  Eussians  whom  I  met,  who  were  desirous  that  such 
a  meeting  should  be  held  in  this  country. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  enlarge  upon  the  value  to 
our  railroad  men  and  manufacturers  of  railway  material 
of  bringing  these  gentlemen  here  to  see  for  themselves 


296  AMERICAN  RAILWAY  MANAGEMEKT. 

that  our  methods  are  not  only  suited  to  the  needs  of  a 
new  country,  but  also  to  the  growing  necessities  of  a  pros- 
perous people  and  to  see  their  results  in  the  creation  of 
trunk  lines  which  will  compare  favorably  in  condition  and 
efficiency  with  any  European  lines. 

If  the  European  delegates  to  such  a  meeting  could  be 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  these  assertions  and  would  give 
them  their  official  endorsement,  it  would  go  a  long  way 
not  only  to  remove  the  opposition  to  the  introduction  of 
American  methods  into  South  iimerica,  Africa,  Asia  and 
Australia,  but  also  to  remove,  in  a  great  degree,  the  doubts 
which  prevail  in  the  minds  of  European  capitalists  as  to 
the  intrinsic  value  of  American  railroad  property. 

This  then  is  the  great  lesson  to  be  drawn  from  the  Lon- 
don meeting  of  the  International  Railway  Congress  :  that 
it  is  of  importance  to  American  railroad  men  and  manu- 
facturers of  railway  material,  as  well  as  to  the  holders  of 
American  railway  securities,  that  the  European  mind 
should  be  enlightened  as  to  American  railway  practice  and 
its  suitability  for  opening  up  the  vast  regions  to  which 
European  capital  is  now  being  attracted,  and  that  this 
should  be  done  by  holding  a  meeting  of  the  International 
Eailway  Congress  within  the  next  two  or  three  years  in 
advance  of  the  Paris  meeting  of  1900.  For  the  informa- 
tion which  would  be  gathered  by  the  European  delegates 
at  the  meeting  here  would  be  applied  by  them  ii;i 
the  interim,  and  the  results  of  their  experience  would  be 
duly  set  forth  in  the  official  proceedings  of  the  Paris  meet- 
ing, thus  bringing  the  matter  before  the  European  world 
in  a  most  impressive  and  convincing  way. 

And  where  could  we  look  for  the  initiation  of  such  a 
meeting  with  greater  confidence  than  to  Chicago — the 
greatest  railroad  center  in  the  world — the  city  to  which 
our  nation  is  indebted  for  the  inauguration  and  the  suc- 
cessful conduct  of  the  most  wonderful  exposition  ever 
seen,  which  gave  to  foreign  countries  their  first  adequate 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.        (  TJl^§f  ^^ 

conception  of  our  resources  and  of  what  we  had  accom- 
plished with  them. 

And.  as  I  speak,  the  memory  of  that  grand  transporta- 
tion building  rises  in  my  mind,  and  I  see  there  gathered 
together  the  instruments  of  transportation  from  all  over 
the  world  arranged  with  due  regard  to  the  development  of 
that  great  function  of  society  which  has  given  to  modern 
civilization  its  greatest  impetus. 

It  is  then  but  natural  that  we  should  look  to  your  city 
for  the  initiation  of  the  next  step  onward  in  the  develop- 
ment of  this  transportation  problem  by  inviting  an  ex- 
amination of  the  solution  which  American  ingenuity  and 
American  enterprise  have  to  offer  to  the  nations  of  the 
world,  and  if  the  Western  Eailway  Club,  which  is  the  rep- 
resentative association  of  the  railroad  officials  of  this  great 
railroad  center,  will  but  favorably  consider  these  sug- 
gestions, both  you  and  I  will  find  that  the  1,000-miles 
journey  which  I  have  taken  to  lay  this  matter  here  before 
you  to-night  has  not  been  made  in  vain. 


298  AMERICAN  liAILWAt   MAi^AGEMENT. 


ADDEESS  DELIYEEED  AT  THE  THIETIETH  AN- 
NUAL CONVENTION  OF  THE  MASTEE  CAE 
BUILDEES^  ASSOCIATION. 

(Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  June  17,  1896.) 

It  is  an  honor  to  be  requested  to  address  the  Master  Car 
Builders'  Associate' on — one  which  I  appreciated  when 
your  President  invited  me  to  do  so  at  your  last  meeting, 
and  which  I  doubly  appreciated  when  the  invitation  was 
renewed  for  this  present  occasion.  For  your  Association 
shares  with  the  Master  Mechanics'  Association  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  pioneers  in  organizing  the  technical 
staff  of  the  railroads  of  this  country  for  the  interchange 
of  information  and  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  as  to 
better  methods  and  improved  appliances. 

The  success  which  has  attended  your  efforts  has  incited 
officials  in  other  departments  to  organize  for  similar  pur- 
poses, and  pointed  out  the  way  to  the  formation  of  the 
American  Eailway  Association,  whose  object  is  defined 
in  its  Eules  of  Order  as  "the  development  and  solution 
of  problems  connected  with  railroad  management  in  the 
mutual  interest  of  the  railroad  companies  of  America." 

In  the  department  of  railroad  operation  to  which  its 
members  belong,  that  has  been  likewise  the  object  of  your 
Association,  and  the  conclusions  which  it  has  reached  as 
to  certain  details  in  freight  car  construction  have  not  only 
been  accepted  by  the  American  Eailway  Association,  but 
have  also  been  embodied  by  the  United  States  Congress 
in  the  Eailway  Safety  Appliance  Act. 

The  good  work  which  our  Master  Car  Builders  have 
accomplished  in  the  attainment  of  better  methods  and  of 
improved  appliances  in  car  construction  is  well  under- 
stood by  those  who,  like  myself,  began  a  railroad  life  at 


MISCELLAKEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.        -  S99 

an  early  age,  and  have  since  been  closely  connected  with 
the  management  of  railroads  in  this  -  country.  As  our 
minds  revert  to  the  past,  how  vividly  we  recall  the  humble, 
low-roofed  cabooses  which  once  served  as  passenger  cars 
for  the  same  class  of  travel  that  now  obtains  the  most  lux- 
urious accommodation.  For  cabooses  they  were  indeed, 
with  but  scanty  provision  for  comfort.  But,  whether  for 
day  or  for  night  travel,  that  was  all  that  was  afforded  to 
the  passengers  who  emerged  from  a  train  of  such  cars  as 
weary  and  dirty  as  any  tramp  that  you  may  meet  along 
the  highway. 

By  degrees  the  passenger  car  became  less  and  less  like 
a  box  car.  It  was  lengthened  and  heightened  ;  the  deck 
roof  improved  its  appearance  and  ventilation  ;  conven- 
iences of  different  kinds  were  added  ;  but  the  great  step 
forward  was  taken  when  provision  was  made  for  sleep  in 
a  recumbent  position  while  traveling. 

The  traveler  of  to-day  may  well  be  grateful  to  Mr.  Pull- 
man for  the  manner  in  which  this  idea  has  been  devel- 
oped by  him  and  by  his  imitators,  but  the  men  who  first 
recognized  the  claim  of  a  human  being  to  stretch  out  his 
cramped  up  limbs  in  a  railroad  train,  even  though  it  was 
only  upon  a  hard  plank,  was  the  Columbus  who  discovered 
the  sleeping  car.  If  he  be  unknown  at  present,  the 
Master  Car  Builders'  Association  ought  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  discover  him,  and  should  then  devote  an  entire 
page  in  its  records  to  transmit  his  name  to  future  gen- 
erations. 

The  appliances  for  safety  have  kept  pace  with  the  ap- 
pliances for  comfort.  One  of  the  earliest  that  occurs  to 
my  mind  was  the  ceiling  of  the  under  side  of  the  floor 
joists  ;  an  improvement  forcibly  impressed  upon  one  who 
has  participated  in  the  derailment  of  an  old-time  passen- 
ger car,  when  the  car  body  was  snatched  from  the  trucks 
and  skidded  along  the  rails,  tearing  out  the  floor  joists 
as  it  went.  Then,  what  an  advance  has  been  made  from 
the  old   four-wheel  truck  mounted   on   journal   springs. 


300  AMEI11CA3S'  RAILWAY  MAifii.^i:MEl!fT. 

without  equalizers  or  bolster  springs.  How  many  devices 
in  the  way  of  springs  were  tried,  condemned,  and  scattered 
along  the  road  of  improvement  which  led  up  to  the  six- 
wheel  truck  of  to-day.  Wagon  springs  and  carriage 
springs  ;  gum  springs,  some  of  elastic  rubber  and  others 
made  mostly  of  whiting  ;  steel  springs,  half-elliptic  and 
double-elliptic,  duplex,  triplex  and  quadruplex  ;  spiral  and 
helix  ;  and  some  made  of  coiled  wire,  stuffed  with  wool 
and  packed  in  cases  ;  and  the  so-called  air  springs,  cylin- 
ders, like  diving  bells,  floating  in  receptacles  tilled  with 
molasses,  which  gradually  became  solidified  by  the  dust 
gathered  up  along  the  track. 

And  think  of  the  advance  from  the  hand-brake  on  a 
single  truck  up  to  the  quick-acting  air-brake  of  to-day — 
a  march  of  improvement  with  which  the  name  of  West- 
inghouse  is  as  inseparably  associated  as  is  the  name  of 
Pullman  with  the  development  of  the  sleeping  car.  Nor 
can  the  advances  made  in  the  line  of  frame  construction 
be  ignored,  even  in  this  rapid  glance  backward.  For  the 
car  body,  which  was  at  first  little  more  than  a  weather 
shelter  over  a  platform  or  floor,  has  become  a  structui-e 
in  which  the  materials  are  ingeniously  disposed  to  offer 
the  maximum  resistance  to  tensile  and  compressive  strains. 

But  the  Master  Car  Builder  of  to-day  is  not  only  an 
engineer,  a  man  versed  in  structural  strains  and  in  devices 
to  resist  them.  His  construction  must  not  only  conform 
to  the  laws  of  mechanics.  He  is  also  an  architect.  The 
structures  which  he  rears,  although  they  be  on  wheels,  are 
becoming  rolling  palaces  indeed,  in  which  those  archi- 
tectural principles  must  be  regarded  which  have  been  held 
as  true  from  the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  Egyptian 
pyramids  and  of  Solomon's  temple,  of  the  Athenian  Par- 
thenon and  mediaeval  cathedrals,  down  to  the  present  day 
of  twenty  story  sky-scrapers. 

Nor  is  this  all.  He  must  not  only  be  an  engineer  and 
an  architect ;  he  must  not  only  furnish  palaces  on  wheels 
for  modern  travelers.     He  must  so  decorate  his  structures 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  301 

as  not  to  offend  their  highly  cultivated  natures.  He  must, 
therefore,  be  an  artist  besides.  To  satisfy  their  aesthetic 
cravings  he  must  ransack  the  resources  of  decorative  art ; 
mahogany,  rosewood,  satinwood,  ebony  and  ivory  ;  mar- 
quetry, mirrors  and  gilding ;  silks  and  satins,  brocade 
and  plush  of  every  varying  hue  ;  all  so  deftly  arranged 
and  draped  as  to  be  in  accord  with  the  prevailing  fashions. 

It  is,  then,  the  work  of  the  Master  Car  Builders  which 
most  impresses  the  traveler  by  rail.  Little  does  he  know 
or  care  about  the  labor  and  thought  expended  on  the  road- 
bed over  which  he  luxuriously  glides  ;  or  of  the  bridges 
and  tunnels,  masterpieces  of  engineering,  which  bear  him 
almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  across  mighty  rivers  or 
through  the  bowels  of  lofty  mountains.  As  he  lolls  in 
his  chariot  of  ease,  he  may  bestow  a  passing  glance  upon 
one  of  those  huge  Titans  of  steel,  devouring  coal  and 
snorting  smoke  from  its  nostrils,  as  it  speeds  along  its  way, 
but  of  the  ever-watchful  care  of  the  train  despatcher  and 
the  signal  man  he  is  as  unconscious  as  of  the  will  of  Divine 
Providence.  For  even  the  safety  of  the  traveler  concerns 
him  less  than  that  he  should  be  commodiously  entertained 
as  he  journeys  along.  With  this  demand  the  Master  Car 
Builders  of  to-day  have  complied  with  such  earnestness 
that  the  American  traveling  public  is  housed  as  princes 
never  were  before.  So  they  must  have,  not  only  cushioned 
seats,  comfortable  beds  and  toilet  accommodations  with 
hot  and  cold  water  always  turned  on,  but  dining  halls  as 
well,  and  observation  oars,  libraries,  bath-rooms,  a  barber- 
shop, and  even  a  typewriter  must  be  at  hand.  To  what 
greater  length  are  you  Master  Car  Builders  going  in  your 
efforts  to  pamper  and  spoil  the  American  people  ? 

Why,  even  the  ladies  who  are  here  with  us  to-day  and 
who,  of  course,  highly  appreciate  what  their  fathers  and 
husbands  have  done  in  beautifying  and  glorifying  the 
American  passenger  car,  know  and  care  but  little  about  the 
success  which  they  have  attained  in  a  matter  of  far  more 


302  AMERICAN   RAILWAY  MANAGEMENT. 

importance  to  the  railroad  companies — the  construction  of 
a  freight  car. 

Just  as  you  have  developed  the  American  passenger  car 
from  what  I  have  styled  cabooses,  so  you  have  wrought 
out  the  American  freight  car  from  what  I  will  style  a 
wagon  truck.  Let  us  look  back  again  and  recall  the  little 
box  car  of  six  to  ten  thousand  pounds  capacity,  and  com- 
pare it  with  the  modern  freight  car  of  sixty  thousand 
pounds  capacity,  framed  to  resist  a  variety  of  strains  and 
shocks  to  which  no  other  structure  on  earth  is  exposed. 

In  the  contest  between  the  standard  gauge  and  the  nar- 
row gauge,  in  which  we  were  all  intensely  interested  some 
twenty  years  ago,  the  promoters  of  the  narrow  gauge  idea 
were  never  tired  of  expatiating  upon  the  advantage  which 
it  afforded  of  a  greater  weight  of  paying  freight  in  pro- 
portion to  the  weight  of  the  equipment.  It  is  true  that 
they  claimed  also  a  saving  in  the  cost  of  road  construction, 
but  this  was  their  principal  argument ;  that  the  cost  of 
transportation  per  ton-mile  would  be  greatly  diminished 
upon  a  narrow  gauge  road  by  this  reduction  in  dead  weight, 
and  they  thus  induced  a  useless  expenditure  of  millions 
of  dollars  in  the  construction  of  thousands  of  miles  of 
narrow  gauge  road  in  this  country — nearly  all  of  which 
has  since  been  changed  to  standard  gauge.  And  why  has 
it  been  changed  ?  Simply  because  the  Master  Car  Builders 
have  been  steadily  reducing  the  proportion  of  dead  weight 
on  the  standard  gauge,  until  now  they  have  produced  a  car 
which  will  carry  sixty  thousand  pounds  and  more  of  load 
on  less  than  thirty  thousand  pounds  dead  weight. 

But  we  must  not  look  altogether  to  the  past  for  your 
victories.  For  you  have  to  win  still  further  triumphs  in 
this  direction.  While,  in  the  construction  of  passenger 
cars,  it  would  be  idle  to  offer  any  suggestions  as  to  increas- 
ing the  comfort  or  the  safety  of  your  passengers — unless 
it  be  to  improve  the  light  and  ventilation — it  does  seem 
that  in  the  attainment  of  these  ends  you  have  not  suffi- 
ciently regarded  the  matter  of  dead  weight.     For,  with  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  303 

demand  for  higher  speed,  the  weight  of  trains  becomes 
a  factor  of  increasing  importance.  The  express  locomo- 
tives of  latest  design  can  maintain  a  speed  of  sixty  miles 
per  hour  over  roads  of  average  grade  and  alignment  with  a 
train  of  five  cars,  weighing  in  all,  say  two  hundred  tons, 
but  this  is  about  the  limit  of  efficiency  at  that  speed.  The 
grade  and  alignment  of  track  are,  of  course,  virtually  un- 
changeable. The  steaming  capacity  of  the  locomotive  is 
limited  by  the  possible  heating  surface  and  grate  area,  and 
these,  again,  are  restricted  by  the  width  of  gauge  and 
necessary  clearance.  So  that  to  maintain  a  higher  rate  of 
speed  either  the  weight  of  the  train  must  be  further  re- 
stricted, or  recourse  be  had  to  the  questionable  expedient 
of  double  header  passenger  trains. 

As  soon  as  a  high  speed  train  is  established  the  officials 
in  the  passenger  department  appeal  for  additional  accom- 
modations upon  it.  They  want,  if  possible,  a  sleeping  car 
direct  to  each  point  of  competition.  Can  you  not  to  some 
extent  respond  to  this  appeal  by  furnishing  a  train  of  six 
cars  that  Avill  weigh  no  more  than  the  present  five-car 
train,  and  yet  preserve  the  same  relative  seating  capacity 
and  retain  the  same  conveniences  for  passengers  ?  Is 
there  not  here  a  lesson  to  be  learned  from  the  evolution 
of  the  bicycle  ? 

In  the  construction  of  freight  cars  you  will  have  this 
same  question  to  meet  as  to  relative  weight  of  trains  to 
speed.  The  practice  is  becoming  common  of  rating 
freight  engines  by  the  weight  of  train,  rather  than  by  the 
number  of  cars,  and  whenever  the  freight  rates  of  this 
country  are  recognized  as  fixed  beyond  the  possibility  of 
disturbance  by  rebates  and  other  illegitimate  concessions, 
the  favor  of  shippers  will  be  solicited  by  offers  of  speedier 
and  more  frequent  deliveries.  Both  of  these  consider- 
ations will  increase  the  demand  for  lighter  and  stronger 
freight  cars. 

Whenever  I  have  had  to  place  a  contract  for  freight 
equipment  I  have  been  impressed  with  the  value  of  minute 


304  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

and  accurate  plans,  specifications  and  bills  of  material.  It 
is  here  that  a  dollar  counts  one  way  or  the  other.  For,  in 
a  contract  for  one  thousand  cars,  the  omission  of  a  dollar's 
worth  of  material  or  labor  upon  each  car  means  a  thousand 
dollars  clear  profit  to  the  contractor.  This  fact  also  em- 
phasizes the  necessity  for  thorough,  continuous  and  in- 
telligent inspection,  when  cars  are  built  by  contract.  The 
establishment  by  this  Association  of  a  standard  axle  and 
journal  box  has  been  a  great  economy  to  railroad  com- 
panies, and  it  is  much  to  be  desired  that  it  should  reach 
a  similar  conclusion  as  to  other  details  of  freight  car  con- 
struction ;  as,  for  instance,  a  standard  body  bolster  for 
sixty  thousand  pound  cars,  that  will  retain  its  rigidity 
under  hard  service. 

I  might  continue  to  mention,  as  they  occur  to  me,  other 
features  in  your  department  which  invite  consideration, 
but  I  must  not  forget  that  this  address  is  but  an  incident 
in  the  programme  with  which  you  must  concern  yourselves 
at  this  meeting. 

Have  you  ever  reflected  upon  the  effect  which  the  use 
of  the  four-wheel  truck  on  American  railroads  has  had 
upon  the  social  life  of  our  people  ?  Any  one  of  you  who 
has  traveled  upon  an  English  railway  train  must  have  felt 
the  difference  in  being  caged  in  a  compartment  with  six 
or  eight  people,  and  in  having  a  free  run  through  one  of 
our  trains,  from  the  smoker  to  the  observation  car.  This 
difference  is  fundamentally  due  to  the  evolution  of  an 
English  railway  carriage  from  a  stage-coach.  Indeed,  it 
is  not  so  much  an  evolution  from  a  stage-coach  as  the  fas- 
tening of  two  or  more  stage-coaches  together,  back  to  back. 
In  keeping  the  carriages  separate,  the  company  has  been 
separated  also,  the  sheep  from  the  goats  ;  and  the  classi- 
fication originating  when  there  was  a  strong  social  reason 
for  it,  in  the  days  when  the  gentry  traveled  in  their  own 
carriages,  the  business  men  in  stage-coaches  and  the  com- 
mon folk  in  wagons,  has  been  maintained  on  the  railways, 
after  th?  social  necessity  for  it  has  been  greatly  lessened. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  305 

Kow,  if  the  "bogie^^  or  four-wheel  truck  had  been  adapted 
in  England  to  railway  equipment,  the  result  there  would 
doubtless  have  been  somewhat  as  in  this  country,  that  is, 
longer  cars,  with  end  doors  and  communication  through 
the  train.  Hence  we  have  people  moving  from  car 
to  car,  seeing  who  is  on  board,  meeting  friends,  making 
acquaintances  and  maintaining  a  circulation  of  ideas  and 
of  information  that  assists  in  keeping  the  whole  train-load 
of  passengers,  of  all  sorts  and  kinds,  from  stagnating  and 
separating  into  strata  of  different  social  elements.  The 
train  conductor  has,  in  the  same  way,  been  brought  into 
social  contact  with  his  passengers,  thereby  becoming  an 
official  to  whom  they  look  for  direction  and  advice, 
instead  of  a  guard  to  be  tipped  with  a  sixpence. 

The  use  of  the  pivoted  truck  has  also  made  it  easier  with 
us  to  provide  for  sleeping  berths,  toilet  rooms,  dining  cars 
and  other  conveniences  which  cannot  be  so  readily  fur- 
nished in  equipment  built  on  English  lines  of  practice. 

It  has  been  intimated  that  these  technical  associations 
of  railroad  officials  tend  to  discourage  the  application  of 
the  inventive  micid  to  the  improvement  of  railroad  ap- 
pliances. It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  this  generation 
will  witness  many  more  such  striking  improvements  in 
railroad  equipment  as  the  air-brake,  the  automatic  coupler 
and  the  vestibuled  platform. 

For,  with  each  fundamental  invention  or  novel  appli- 
cation of  familiar  forces  or  devices,  the  field  for  original 
research  is  narrowed,  mainly  as  to  controlling  features  of 
equipment,  partly  as  to  details,  and  in  no  other  department 
of  railroad  operation  is  uniformity  so  essential  as  in  equip- 
ment to  be  interchanged  throughout  our  country.  Any 
principle,  any  device,  anv  detail  which  obstructs  such  gen- 
eral use  must  be  modified  to  meet  this  requirement,  or  be 
rejected,  even  thousfh  it  be  otherwise  of  merit. 

The  principal  use  of  vour  Association  is  to  dotermine 
in  w'hat  respect  this  uniformity  is  essentinl  and  in  what 
respect  it  is  either  unimportant  or  undesirable.     In  doing 


306  AMERICAN^   RAILWAY   MANAGEMEi^T. 

this,  you  establish  the  limitations  within  which  inventors 
must  work,  for  the  result  of  their  labors  to  be  available. 
Within  those  boundaries  the  field  is  free  for  them  to  ex- 
ercise their  ingenuity,  and  they  are  assisted  to  concentrate 
their  efforts  for  their  own  benefit,  by  reason  of  the  very 
restrictions  which  you  have  placed  upon  them. 

This  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  your  action  as  to  freight 
car  couplers.  For  your  Association  laboriously  and 
thoughtfully  arrived  at  a  type  of  coupler  best  suited  for 
the  purpose,  but  still  left  the  field  free  for  inventors  to 
devise  couplers  which  should  conform  to  certain  contour 
lines  and  other  conditions  essential  to  interchangeability 
among  their  several  devices.  The  way  was  thus  made 
clear  for  the  introduction  of  many  different  couplers,  each 
having  its  peculiar  merits,  yet  all  interchangeable.  But 
for  this  action  of  your  Association,  there  would  have  been 
a  contest  for  recognition  among  couplers  of  different  types, 
incapable  of  coupling  with  each  other,  each  sustained  by 
powerful  and  interested  advocates  ;  and  we  should  prob- 
ably have  seen  a  battle  of  the  couplers,  as  we  saw  the  battle 
of  the  gauges,  indefinitely  prolonged  at  ^reat  cost  to  the 
railroad  companies,  and  with  long  continued  exposure  to 
accidents  among  railroad  employees. 

Your  efforts  in  behalf  of  uniformity  have  not  been  of 
benefit  to  railroad  companies  alone.  The  air-brake  and 
the  vestibuled  platform  coupled  automatically  have  almost 
eliminated  the  liability  of  a  passenger  to  fatal  injury  from 
a  buttin<x  collision.  With  the  general  adoption  of  the 
Master  Car  Buil  lers'  tyf  e  of  automatic  freight  car  couplers, 
switching  will  cease  to  be  a  hazardous  occupation,  and  the 
general  application  of  the  air-brake  to  freight  trains  will, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  bring  the  brakeman  down  from  the  top 
of  the  train  ;  free  him  from  exposure  to  the  weather 
greater  than  the  storm -tossed  sailor  .suffers,  and  reduce  the 
casnalties  due  to  low  bridsres  anri  tunnels. 

It  is  because  these  several  safetv  appliances  have  been 
made  uniform  in  their  action  that  we  are  to  receive  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  307 

full  benefit  of  their  application  to  the  million  or  more  of 
cars  that  are  used  in  common  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
These  great  advantages  to  the  traveling  public  and  to  rail- 
road employees  could  only  have  been  enjoyed  by  the 
mutual  action  of  the  railroad  companies,  made  practicable 
through  your  Association,  which  has  thereby  become  a 
public  benefactor,  as  well  as  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the 
companies  which  you  represent. 

As  I  look  around  me  and  think  how  many  of  the  rep- 
resentative men  of  your  Association  have  risen  from  the 
ranks,  I  recall  the  time  when  I  took  my  dinner  pail  with 
me  to  work,  little  foreseeing  that  I  should  ever  be  honored 
by  an  invitation  to  participate  in  an  occasion  of  this  kind. 
Many  of  }ou  must  have  had  the  same  thought  to  pass 
through  your  minds,  and  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  my 
closing  remarks  to  mention  what  must  also  have  occurred 
to  you.  In  railroad  life,  as  in  other  careers  of  usefulness, 
the  way  to  eminence  does  not  lie  among  the  alluring  fields 
of  recreation  and  ease,  but  along  the  rugged  paths  of  ap- 
plication, self-restraint  and  self-improvement.  And  I 
earnestly  wish  that  this  thought  could  be  as  strongly  im- 
pressed upon  the  minds  of  those  young  men  who  fill  the 
railroad  ranks  to-day  ;  that  they  must  be  industrious, 
economical,  studious  and  tractable,  if  they  would  secure 
for  themselves  that  domestic  happiness  which,  to  most 
men,  makes  life  worth  living,  which  has  drawn  with  you 
here  to-day  your  wives  and  daughters,  to  grace  this  oc- 
casion with  their  presence,  and  to  make  it  a  social  event  as 
well  as  an  opportunity  for  the  discussion  of  technical  mat- 
ters connected  with  your  duties  as  Master  Car  Builders. 


30d  AMERICAN^   RAILWAY  MAl^AGEMENT. 


VALUE  OF  RAILROAD  PROPERTY  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES  AS  SHOWN  BY  THE  RE- 
PORT OF  1896  OF  THE  INTER-STATE  COM- 
MERCE  COMMISSION. 

In  an  address  delivered  at  the  meeting  of  the  American 
Railway  Association  on  April  17,  1895,  I  called  attention  to 
the  diminishing  margin  between  the  charge  for  transporta- 
tion on  railroads  in  the  United  States  and  the  cost  of  per- 
forming the  service,  as  obtained  from  the  statistics  given 
in  the  annual  reports  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commis- 
sion for  the  six  years  1888  to  1893. 

The  statistics  as  to  freight  traffic  showed  decreases  dur- 
ing that  period  as  follows  : 

TOTAL  DECREASE.— CENTS  PER  TON  MILE. 

1888.  1893.  Decrease.    Per  Cent. 

Revenue 1.001        .878  .123  12 

Cost 630        .579  .051  8 

Profit 371        .299  .072  19 

The  statistics  as  to  passenger  traffic  showed  the  follow- 
ing decreases : 

TOTAL  DECREASE,— CENTS  PER  PASSENGER  MILE. 

1888.  1893.  Decrease.    Per  Cent. 

Revenue 2.349        2.108  .241  10 

Cost 2.042        1.955  .087  4 

Profit 307  .153  .154  50 

In  commenting  npon  these  statistics  I  used  the  follow- 
ing language:  "The  annual  approximation  of  these  two 
lines  of  figures  as  we  look  along  them  toward  the  horizon 
before  us  is  not  an  illusion,  but  an  actual  drawing 
together  toward   zero,      We  have  postponed  the  critical 


MISCELLAKEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  309 

moment  at  which  they  will  meet  in  the  vanishing  point, 
by  economies,  true  and  false,  by  a  more  enlightened  use 
of  the  facilities  at  our  command,  and  by  requiring  more 
work  for  less  pay.  But  strive  as  we  may  between  the  con- 
ditions which  confine  our  path  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  cost  and  compensation,  they  cannot  be  kept  parallel 
by  changing  the  direction  of  one  so  long  as  the  other 
changes  at  a  greater  angle;  in  other  words,  so  long  as  the 
pay  for  doing  the  work  decreases  faster  than  the  cost  of 
doing  it  can  be  decreased. ^^ 

Since  the  delivering  of  the  address  from  which  the  above 
quotation  is  made,  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission 
has  published  its  reports  for  the  years  1894  and  1895,  and 
we  have  now  the  opportunity  to  institute  a  comparison 
between  the  figures  given  above  for  1893  and  those  for 
1895. 

RATE   AND  COST.— CENTS  PER  TON  MILE. 

1893.  1895.  Decrease.    Per  Cent. 

Rate 878  .839  .039  4 

Cost 579  .555  .024  3 

Profit 299  .284  .015  5 

RATE   AND   COST.— CENTS   PER  PASSENGER   MILE. 

1893.  1895.  Increase.       Decrease.     Per  Cent. 

Rate 2.108  2.040  .068  3 

Cost 1.955  2.000  .045  ....  2 

Profit...     .153  .040  .113  74 

These  figures  would  seem  to  justify  the  assertion  made 
in  1895  that  the  margin  of  profit  between  the  rate  and 
cost  of  transportation  upon  the  railroads  in  this  country 
was  continuously  approaching  zero. 

It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  cost  per  ton  mile  and  per 
passenger  mile  given  above  for  1895  is  not  taken  from  the 
reports  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission. 

In  its  report  for  1894  the  following  statement  is  made. 
"Previous  reports  contained  an  estimate  of  the  'average 
cost  of  carrying  one  passenger  one  mile '  and  the  '  average 


310  AMERICAN-   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

cost  of  carrying  one  ton  one  mile/  In  the  present  report 
these  items  do  not  appear,  they  having  been  abandoned  on 
account  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  rule  which  it  was  neces- 
sary to  adopt  for  their  compilation." 

In  an  address  delivered  at  the  meeting  of  the  American 
Kailway  Association  in  October,  1891,  on  the  "  Cost  of 
Transportation,"  I  undertook  at  some  length  to  demon- 
strate the  futility  of  applying  to  the  business  of  railroad 
transportation  such  units  as  those  of  the  rate  and  cost  per 
ton  mile  and  per  passenger  mile ;  but  as  many  of  the  asser- 
tions affecting  railroad  matters  which  are  set  forth  in  polit- 
ical speeches,  legal  arguments,  and  newspaper  articles  are 
based  upon  these  figures  as  contained  in  the  Inter-State 
Commerce  Commission  Reports,  I  have  estimated  them  for 
the  years  1894  and  1895,  in  the  above  comparisons,  upon 
the  basis  used  in  previous  reports. 

For  the  purpose  for  which  these  comparisons  are  in- 
tended these  figures  are  adequate,  since  they  show  a  con- 
tinuing decrease  in  rates  more  rapid  than  the  decrease  in 
cost,  and  a  consequently  steady  diminution  of  the  margin 
of  profit  from  those  rates  applicable  to  a  return  on  the 
capital  invested  in  railroad  property.  But  it  was  main- 
tained that  as  this  decreasing  margin  of  profit  per  ton-mile 
and  per  passenger-mile  was  accompanied  by  a  considerable 
increase  in  the  volume  of  business,  the  resulting  net 
revenue  as  a  whole  was  remunerative. 

The  volume  of  business  annually  is  shown  in  the  Inter- 
State  Commerce  Commission  Eeports  as  follows: 

Freight  Traffic.  Passengrer  Traffic. 

Ton  Miles,  per  Mile  Pass.  Miles,  per  Mile 

of  Line.  of  Line, 

1889 448,069  75,325 

1890 487,245  75,751 

1891 502,705  79,641 

1893 543  366  82,284 

1893 548,401  83.378 

1894 457,254  81,333 

1895 479,490  68,572 


MISCELLAKEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  311 

From  this  statement  it  will  be  seen  that  the  volume 
of  traffic  culminated  in  1893.  The  freight  traffic  in  the 
following  year  fell  ofE  16  per  cent.,  amounting  to  but  a 
little  more  than  in  1889,  while  even  the  inducements  to 
travel  offered  in  the  year  of  the  Columbian  Exposition 
did  not  serve  to  maintain  the  passenger  traffic  at  the 
figures  of  1893. 

In  1895  the  volume  of  freight  traffic  showed  a  little  im- 
provement over  that  of  the  previous  year,  though  not  yet 
equalling  the  figures  of  1890,  while  the  woful  decrease  in 
passenger  traffic,  even  as  compared  with  the  figures  of  the 
Columbian  Exposition  year,  gave  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
the  passenger  traffic  of  1894  would  have  fallen  off,  as  the 
freight  traffic  did  in  that  year,  but  from  the  help  received 
from  that  source.  As  a  fact,  the  passenger  traffic  in  1895 
was,  in  volume,  17  per  cent,  less  than  in  1893  and  even  9 
per  cent  less  than  in  1889. 

We  have  now  to  see  how  the  results  of  railroad  opera- 
tions for  1895  affected  the  value  of  railroad  property: 

RAILWAY  CAPITAL,    1895. 

Common  stock |4, 201, 697, 351 

Preferred  stock 759,561,305 

$4,961,258,656 

Bonds 4,641.755,548 

Total  capital $9,603,014,204 

This  statement  does  not  include  the  following  items: 

Miscellaneous  obligations $445,221,472 

Income  bonds 242,603,226 

Equipment  trust  obligations 55,915,327 

Total $743,740,025 

These  items  have  been  excluded  for  the  following 
reasons : 

1.  The  character  of  the  so-called  miscellaneous  obliga- 
tions is  not  described  in  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Com  mis- 


312  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

sion  Reports  in  such  a  way  as  to  explain  the  nature  of 
their  liens  upon  the  railroad  property. 

2.  Income  bonds  may  be  considered  as  having  been 
issued  to  a  great  extent  in  the  way  of  a  bonus  in  the  re- 
organization of  railroad  corporations  and  as  standing  in  a 
different  relation  to  the  property  than  that  of  mortgage 
bonds. 

3.  Equipment  trust  obligations  may  be  considered  in 
many  cases  as  liens  merely  on  equipment,  gradually  dis- 
charged by  mileage  rentals  which  appear  in  the  car-mileage 
accounts. 

4.  But  the  principal  reason  for  excluding  these  classes 
of  investments  in  railroad  property  in  this  investigation  of 
the  value  of  railroad  property  is  a  desire  to  forestall  the 
assumption  that  the  railroad  property  is  overvalued. 

Having  thus  written  off,  as  it  were,  from  the  valuation 
of  this  property  the  sum  of  $743,000,000,  and  brought  it 
down  to  the  face  value  of  the  capital  represented  by  stock 
and  bonds,  viz.,  $9,603,014,204,  we  have  next  to  ask  what 
did  this  investment  produce  in  1895  ?  The  answer  as  given 
in  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission  Reports  is  as 
follows : 

GROSS  EARNINGS  FROM  RAILROAD  OPERATIONS,    1895. 

Passenger  revenue |252,246,180 

Mail 30,969,746 

Express 24,284,508 

Other  earuings 6,114,786 

Total  passenger  service  earnings $313,615,220 

Freight  revenue $729,993,462 

Other  earnings 4,140,850 

Total  freight  service  earnings $734,134,312 

Other  earnings  from  operations 27,088.987 

Unclassified  earuings 532,943 

Total  earnings  from  operation $1,075,371,462 

This  statement  does  not  include  income  from  other 
sources,  $132,432,133,  for  the  reason  that  this  item  repre- 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  313 

sents  not  only  income  from  other  property  than  railroad 
property,  but  also  income  from  investments  in  railroad 
stocks  and  bonds  which  has  already  been  included  in  the 
above  statement  of  "  Earnings  from  Railroad  Operations/' 
But  these  figures  represent  the  gross  earnings,  from  which 
must  be  deducted  the  cost  of  operations  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain the  net  earnings  applicable  to  the  payment  of  fixed 
charges  and  dividends. 

The  net  earnings  are  shown  as  follows: 

NET  EARNINGS  FROM   RAILROAD   OPERATIONS,  1895. 

Gross  earnings $1,075,371,462 

Opt-iating  expenses 725,720,415 

Net  earnings $349,651,047 

It  took  then  over  68  per  cent,  of  the  gross  earnings  to 
meet  the  cost  of  operations,  leaving  32  per  cent,  available 
for  fixed  charges  and  dividends. 

If  this  amount  had  been  divided  equally  among  the 
holders  of  stock  and  bonds  it  would  have  been  sufficient  to 
have  paid  3.6  per  cent,  on  the  total  amount  so  invested. 
But  it  was  not  divided  that  way;  only  to  a  partial  extent 
did  these  net  earnings  reach  the  stockholders. 

The  Inter- State  Commerce  Commission  Report  shows  the 
distribution  of  these  net  earnings  as  follows : 

DISTRIBUTION   OF  NET  EARNINGS,  1895. 

Dividends,  common  stock $71,388,378 

Dividends,  preferred  stock 13,899,165 

$85,287,543 

Interest  on  bonds 223.420,604 

Total  paid  on  stock  and  bonds $308,708,147 

Interest  paid  on  miscellaneous  obligations. . . .       28,125,640 

Interest  paid  on  income  bonds 966,676 

Interest  paid  on  current  liabilities 7,860  261 

Net  earnings  not  accounted  for 3,990,323 

Total  net  earnings. $349,651,047 


314  AMERICAK   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

The  net  earnings  paid  out  as  dividends  and  as  interest 
on  funded  obligations,  was  paid  on  but  a  part  of  tiie  total 
investment,  as  follows: 

Capital  stock.    Per  Cent,  of  Total. 

Dividends  paid $1,485,618,453  30 

Nothing  paid 3,475,640,203  70 

Total $4,961,258,656 

Mortgage  Bonds. 

Interest  paid $4,027,427,255  87 

Nothing  paid 614,328,293  13 

Total 4,641,755,548 

Miscellaneous  Obligations. 

Interest  paid $390,723, 184  88 

Nothing  paid 54,498,288  13 

Total $445,221,472 

Income  Bonds. 

Interest  paid $20,868,347  9 

Nothing  paid 221,734,879  91 

Total $242,603,226 

From  these  figures  it  would  seem  that  the  proportion  of 
secured  capital  invested  in  railroad  property  which  has  re- 
ceived some  return  is  far  larger  than  the  proportion  of  the 
investment  in  capital  stock  which  has  been  similarly 
fortunate,  while  the  investment  in  income  bonds  is  vir- 
tually based  upon  hope  deferred. 

Taking  another  view  of  this  subject,  the  total  invest- 
ment as  divided  between  that  which  received  something 
and  that  which  received  nothing,  is  as  follows: 

RETURNS  ON  RAILROAD  INVESTMENTS,  1895. 

Amount  Receiving  Income.       No  Income.  Total. 

Capital  stock $1,485,618,453     $3,475,640,203  $4,961,258,656 

Mortgage  bonds..     4,027,427,255           614,328,293  4,641,755,548 

Misc.  obligations..        390,723,184             54,498,288  445.221.472 

Income  bonds. .. .         20,868,347           221,734,879  242,603,226 

Total $5,924,637,239      $4,366,201,663    $10,290,838,902 

Percent 57  48 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  315 

So  it  seems  that  nearly  one  half  of  the  capital  invested 
in  railroad  property  in  1895  received  no  return  whatever. 
The  average  income  on  that  which  did  receive  anything 
was  as  follows : 

AVERAGE  RETURNS  IN   1895   ON  RAILROAD  INVESTMENTS  WHICH 
RECEIVED  ANY   RETURNS  WHATEVER. 

Investment.  Returns.  Per  Cent. 

Capital  Stock $1,485,618,453  $85,287,543  5.7 

Mortgage  bonds 4,027.427,255  323,420.604  5.5 

Misc.  obligations 390,723,184  28.125,640  7.1 

Income  bonds 20,868,347  966,676  4.6 

Total $5,924,637,239    $337,800,463        5.7 

These  figures  then  go  to  show  that,  although  nearly  one 
half  of  the  total  investment  in  railroad  property  received 
no  return  whatever,  the  average  return  on  the  half  that 
did  receive  anything  was  less  than  six  per  cent.  It  should 
be  stated  that  the  distribution  of  returns  shown  above  as 
between  mortgage  bonds,  miscellaneous  obligations,  and 
income  bonds  is  not  clearly  made  in  the  Inter-State  Com- 
merce Commission  Eeports,  but  has  been  deduced  from  the 
figures  therein  given  in  another  form  and  is  approximately 
correct;  the  total  figures,  of  course,  being  as  stated  in  the 
report. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  therefore  having 
the  free  use  of  about  one  half  of  the  capital  invested  in  rail- 
road property.  For  the  use  of  the  other  half  they  have 
paid  less  than  six  per  cent. 

They  have  paid, 

As  dividends $85,287,543 

As  iuterest  on  bonds 223,420,604 

Total $308,708,147 

For  this  amount  they  have  had  the  use  of  177,746  miles 
of  road,  which  is  capitalized  as  follows,  per  mile  of  road: 

In  stock  at $27,912  per  mile. 

Inbondsat 26,114 

Total $54,026 


316  AMERICAK  RAILWAY  MAKAGEMENT. 

The  dividends  actually  paid  averaged  5  7  per  cent,  on  11,485,618,453 
The  interest  on  bonds  averaged  5.5  per  cent.  on. . .  ..    4,027,427,255 

Total $5,513,045,708 

The  number  of  miles  of  road  represented  by  this  pro- 
ductive capital  cannot  be  ascertained  from  the  reports,  but 
it  can  be  stated  that  the  total  mileage  is  represented  by 
capital,  respectively,  productive  and  unproductive,  as 
follows : 

STOCK  AND  BONDS,   PER  MILE  OP  ROAD. 

Stock.         Bonds.  Total. 

Productive $8,358      $22,658      $31,016 

Unproductive 19,554  3,456        23,010 

Total $27,913      $26,114      $54,026 

So  that  the  total  capital  per  mile  of  road  on  which  there 
is  any  productive  return  averages  a  little  over  $31,000  per 
mile. 

There  is  a  prevailing  impression  that  the  nominal  capi- 
talization of  the  railroad  property  in  this  country  has  been 
largely  increased  in  the  past  few  years  by  means  of  reor- 
ganization of  bankrupt  roads.  The  figures  as  given  in  the 
reports  of  1888  and  1895  are  as  follows : 

AVERAGE  CAPITALIZATION,   PER  MILE   OP  ROAD. 

1888.  1895. 

Common  stock $24,411         $23,639 

Preferred  stock 3,821  4,273 

Total  stock $28,232         $27,912 

Bonds 27,880  26,114 

Total  capitalization $56, 1 12         $54, 026 

From  the  above  statement  it  seems  that  the  impression 
referred  to  is  so  far  erroneous,  that  the  capitalization  per 
mile  of  road  has  actually  decreased,  notwithstanding  the 
manifestly  improved  condition  of  the  railroads  at  the  date 
of  the  latter  report. 


MISCELLAN^EOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC. 


317 


RECAPITULATION. 

Let  US  now  compare  the  facts  exhibiting  the  value  of 
railroad  property  as  already  taken  from  the  reports  for 
1888  and  1895. 

1888.  1895. 

Miles  of  line 136,883  177,746 

Frt'igbt  traffic : 

Rate  per  ton  mile 1.001  cents.  0.839  cents. 

Cost  per  ton  mile 0.630     "  0.555    " 

Profit  per  ton  mile 0.371     **  0.384    " 

Passenger  traffic : 

Rate  per  pass  nger  mile 2.108  cents.  2.040  cents. 

Cost  per  passenger  mile 1.955     '*  2.000    " 

Profit  per  passenger  mile 0,153     "  0.040    '* 

Per  mile  of  line  : 

Freight,  ton  miles (1889) 448,069  479,490 

Passenger,  passenger  miles  (1889).       75,325  68,573 

Per  mile  of  line: 

Total  earnings,  freight  service $4,480  |4,130 

Total  earnings   pas.-enger  service  .         2,026  1,765 

Total  earnings  from  other  operations           146  155 

Total  from  all  operations $6,652  $6,050 

Cost  of  all  operations 4.347  4,083 

Net  from  all  operations..      $3,305  $1,968 

Common  stock 24,411  23,639 

Preferred  stock 3,821  4,273 

Total  stock $28,232  $27,912 

Bonds 27,880  26,114 

Total  stock  and  bonds $56,113  $54,036 

Proportion  gross  earnings   to  stock 

and  bonds 11.8  per  cent.  ll.Spercent. 

Proportion  net  earnings  to  stock  and 

bonds..   4.0      "  3.6 

If  the  entire  net  earnings  from  operation  in  1895  had 
been  available  for  distribution  among  the  stock  and  bonds 
only,  they  would  have  been  sufficient  for  an  average  return 

of  3.6  per  cent,  on  this  entire  capitalization.  But  the  en- 
tire amount,  as  has  been  shown,  was  not  so  available.  After 


318  AMERICAN"  RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

payments  made  on  account  of  the  miscellaneous  obliga- 
tions, etc.,  already  referred  to,  the  amount  actually  diverted 
to  dividends  on  stock  and  interest  on  bonds  averaged  per 
mile  of  line: 

In  dividends $479 ;  equal  to  1.3  per  cent. 

In  interest  on  bonds 1257;  equal  to  4.4  per  cent. 

In  dividends  and  interest $1,736;  equal  to  3.2  per  cent. 

If  we  are  to  accept  the  statistics  of  the  Inter-State  Com- 
merce Commission  as  a  basis  for  estimating  the  intrinsic 
value  of  railroad  property  in  the  immediate  future,  we  must 
recognize: 

First,  a  continuing  tendency  to  lower  rates  of  transpor- 
tion. 

Second,  that  the  marvellous  increase  in  the  volume  of 
traffic  which  has  hitherto  tempted  capitalists  to  promote 
new  railroad  enterprises  has  ceased. 

Third,  that  if  the  average  expectation  of  returns  on  capi- 
tal already  invested  is  now  bat  3.2  per  cent.,  the  prospect 
of  returns  from  new  enterprises,  intended  "  to  build  up  the 
country  "  is  indeed  remote. 

COST   OF   TRANSPORTATION. 

This  is,  however,  still  one  more  probability  to  be  consid- 
ered, and  that  is  the  hope  of  increased  net  returns  from  the 
same  gross  revenue  by  means  of  increased  economies,  and 
this  leads  to  a  consideration  of  the  cost  of  performing  the 
service.  To  what  extent  is  such  a  hope  justified  by  the 
statements  on  which  our  conclusions  have  been  reached  as 
to  the  gross  and  net  earnings  of  the  railroads  in  this  coun- 
try? Here,  instead  of  relying  upon  the  illusory  units  of 
the  cost  per  ton  mile  and  per  passenger  mile,  we  must  de- 
pend upon  the  train  mile  units  in  the  effort  to  analyze  the 
items  of  cost  of  service  and  their  relation  to  the  varying 
volume  of  traffic. 

This  phase  of  the  subject  was  also  considered  in  the  a(i- 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  319 

dress  at  first  referred  to,  in  connection  with  the  Inter-State 
Commerce  Commission  Reports  from  1883  to  1885. 

The  average  revenue  and  cost  per  train  mile  for  each  of 
those  years  were  there  given  as  follows,  the  revenue  alone 
for  1895  being  now  added: 

REVENUE  AND  COST  PER  TRAIN  MILE. 

1888.  1893.  1895. 
Freight  train,  mile: 

Revenue $1,653  $1,627  $1,612 

Cost 1.064  1.067       

Net $0,589        $0,560 

Passenger  train,  mile  : 

Reveuue $1.0629      $1.0682      $0.9787 

Cost 08116        0.8404        

Net $0.2513     $0  2278 

As  stated  in  that  address,  the  figures  for  the  cost  per  pas- 
senger train  mile  are  given  somewhat  differently  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  report,  but  those  are  used  above  which  seem 
most  capable  of  analysis.  They  show  in  both  classes  of 
service  an  increased  cost  of  performance.  The  apparent 
causes  for  this  result  are  there  considered  at  length. 

We  are  unable  to  extend  this  comparison  farther,  as  since 
1893  the  reports  do  not  distinguish  the  cost  per  mile  be- 
tween freight  and  passenger  trains.  The  comparison  per 
cost  of  all  trains  is  given  as  follows,  for  the  years  1888, 
1893  and  1895: 

REVENUE  AND  COST  PER  TRAIN  MILE. 

1888.                      1893.  1895. 
All  trains : 

Revenue $1.46.719  $1.43  229  $1.35.947 

Cost 96.050             97.272  91.820 

Net  ..   .  $0  50,669        $0.45.957        $0.44.127 

From  this  it  is  evident,  as  already  asserted,  that  the  com- 
pensation for  transportation  is  decreasing  more  rapidly  than 
the  cost  of  performance. 


320  AMERICAN^   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

The  train  mileage  in  the  three  years  under  comparison, 
was  as  follows: 

TKAIN  MILEAGE, 

1888.  1893.  1895. 

Freight  trains 370.121,110      508,715,506      449,291.238 

Passenger  trains 243,498,547      335,618,770      317,565,615 

Total 613,614,657      844.334,276      766,856,853 

PERCENTAGE   OF  TOTAL. 

Freight  trains 60  .60  .57 

Passenger  trains 40  .40  .42 

PER  MILE   OP  LINE. 

Freight  trains 2704        2996        2527 

Passenger  trains 1778        1976        1787 

Total  trains 4482        4972        4314 

Freight  revenue  14480      $4881       $4130 

Passenger  revenue 2026        2110        17(i5 

Total $0506      $6991      $5895 

PERCENTAGE   OF   FREIGHT  AND   PASSENGER   REVENUE,  TOTAL. 

1888.  1893.  1895. 

Freight  revenue 69  .70  .70 

Passenger  revenue 31  .30  .30 

The  following  conclusions  are  to  be  drawn  from  these 
mileage  figures,  viz, : 

That  the  proportion  of  passenger  train  mileage  to  freight 
train  mileage  has  increased. 

That  the  total  freight  train  mileage  per  mile  of  line  was 
G  per  cent,  less  in  1895  than  in  1888  and  the  passenger  train 
service  but  little  more,  while  the  freight  revenue  per  mile 
of  line  had  decreased  8  percent,  and  the  passenger  revenue 
12  per  cent. 

That  the  saving  in  freight-train  service  has  been  greater 
than  in  passenger-train  service  is  due  to  the  increased  capac- 
ity of  freight  equipment.  An  increasing  proportion  of  the 
total  number  of  freight  cars  is  of  thirty  tons^  capacity. 
The  capacity  of  both  freight  and  passenger  locomotives  has 
also  increased,  but  the  additional  power  in  the  passenger 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  321 

locomotives  has  been  absorbed  in  quicker  schedules  and 
heavier  cars. 

Keferring  specially  to  freight  service,  some  figures  may 
be  given  as  to  the  use  made  of  the  increased  capacity  of 
freight  equipment. 

TONNAGE  STATISTICS. 

188*)  18Q3  1895 

Freiffht  tonnage 539,639,583  745,119,483  696,7*61,171 

Ton  mileage 68,727,223,146  93,588,111,833  85,237,515,891 

Tons  carried  one  mile, 

per  mile  of  line. . ..              448,070  551.232  479.490 

Average  haul  miles..                127.36  125.60  122.32 

Tons  per  train 179.35  183.97  189.60 

The  figures  for  1889  are  here  used,  as  they  are  not  given 
for  1888.     In  these  seven  years  the 

Total  tonnage  has  increased  30  per  cent. 

Total  ton  mileage  has  increased 24  "      " 

Tons  carried  one  mile,  per  mile  of  line,  increased 7  <«      «« 

Average  haul  has  decreased 4  "      *' 

Tons  per  train  have  increased 6   "      " 

The  fact  that  the  average  haul  per  ton  has  decreased  4 
per  cent,  accounts  for  the  disparity  between  the  total  ton- 
nage and  ton  mileage.  It  shows  that,  from  some  cause, 
there  was  not  so  large  a  proportion  of  long-haul  freight  in 
1895  as  in  1889.  The  unnecessary  extension  of  railroad 
facilities  is  shown  by  an  increase  in  those  seven  years  of 
only  7  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  tons  carried  one  mile, 
per  mile  of  line,  while  the  total  ton  mileage  has  increased 
24  per  cent.  It  is  also  to  be  observed  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  largely  increased  capacity  of  freight  locomotives 
and  freight  cars  during  these  years,  the  average  tonnage  per 
train  has  increased  but  6  per  cent. 

As  compared  with  the  operations  of  the  year  1888,  the 

earnings  and  expenses  per  mile  of  line  in  1895  compare  as 

follows: 

Freight  earnings  have  decreased 8  per  cent. 

Passenger  earnings  have  decreased 8    "     " 

Gross  earnings  have  decreased 9    "     ** 

Net  earnings  have  decreased 17    "     " 

Cost  of  operation  has  decreased ..............  ^    "     ** 


322  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

Ifc  seems  in  vain  to  hope  for  an  arrest  of  the  continuing 
downward  tendency  of  freight  and  passenger  rates,  and 
unless  the  cost  of  operations  can  be  reduced  proportionately 
with  the  reduction  in  rates,  net  earnings  will  likewise  con- 
tinue to  decrease  in  an  accelerated  ratio.  This  is  plain  if 
gross  earnings  are  to  continue  to  decrease  at  the  rate  of  9 
per  cent,  while  the  cost  of  operations  decrease  only  at  the 
rate  of  6  per  cent. 

Indeed,  it  is  doubtful  whether  a  continually  decreasing 
ratio  in  the  cost  of  operations  can  be  maintained.  Freight 
and  passenger  rates  can  be  reduced  by  the  simple  order 
of  a  traffic  official,  but  the  superintendent  has  to  deal 
with  pay-rolls  and  supply  vouchers  which  will  not  down 
at  his  mere  bidding.  For  this  reason  I  have  thought 
that  it  would  be  of  interest  to  present  some  figures  in  detail 
as  to  the  cost  of  operations  in  1895  as  compared  with 
those  presented  for  previous  years  in  the  address  which 
brought  the  subject  down  to  1893.  As  the  Inter-State  Com- 
merce Commission  has  ceased  to  give  the  items  of  cost  sep- 
arately for  freight  trains  and  passenger  trains  since  1893, 
the  comparisons  of  these  items  which  I  made  up  to  that 
date  cannot  be  continued  for  1895  and  the  subject  must 
therefore  be  treated  differently  in  this  paper. 

As  the  cost  of  operations  is  classified  in  those  reports  the 
proportion  among  the  several  classes  has  been  as  follows: 

COST   OP   OPERATIONS  —PROPORTION  TO  TOTAL   COST. 

1888.  1893  1895. 

Maintenance  of  way  and  structures 22.60  20.45  19  84 

Maintenance  of  equipment  17.09  1H.53  15.68 

Conducting  transportation 50.26  52.60  59  41 

General  expenses 9.34  10  33  4.95 

Unclassified 71  .09  .13 

The  change  in  the  proportion  of  expenses  as  classified, 
from  1883  to  1895,  is  most  marked  in  the  increased  percent- 
age to  conducting  transportation  and  the  decrease  to  gen- 
eral expenses.  This  difference  is  accounted  for  in  the 
report  for  1895,  as  a  difference  in  the  classification  of  ex- 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  333 

penses;  certain  items  such  as  stationery  and  printing,  ad- 
vertising, commissions,  rents,  outside  agencies,  and  super- 
intendence, before  charged  entirely  to  general  expense 
account,  having  been  to  some  extent  distributed  among 
the  other  classes.  All  of  the  deductions,  however,  from 
general  expenses  did  not  go  to  conducting  transporta- 
tion; some  of  them  were  added  to  maintenance  of  way  and 
to  equipment.  Yet  both  of  these  percentages  show  a 
decrease,  particularly  in  the  case  of  maintenance  of  way. 
This  classification  of  the  cost  of  operations  may  be  pre- 
sented in  another  way  as  divided  per  mile  of  line : 

COST  OF  OPERATIONS  PER  MILE  OF   LINE. 

1888.  1893.  1895. 

Maintenance  of  way $982  $997  $810 

Maintenance  of  equipment 743  806  640 

Conducting  transportation 2185  2565  2425 

General  expenses 406  504  202 

Unclassified  31  4  5 

Total '. $4347         $4876  $4182 

The  railroad  property  of  this  country  was  operated 
more  cheaply,  per  mile  of  line,  in  1895  than  in  1888,  and 
the  reduction  since  the  pressure  came  in  1893  has  been 
remarkable.  The  superintendents  seem  to  have  done  their 
part  in  the  reduction  of  expenses,  though  they  could  not 
keep  the  pace  set  for  them  in  the  reduction  of  rates  by 
traffic  officials. 

Comparing  the  performance  of  the  years  1888  and  1895, 
we  find  a  reduction  in  each  class  of  expenses  except  in  that 
of  conducting  transportation.  Here  alone  has  there  been 
an  actual  increase.  The  decreased  cost  in  maintenance  of 
way,  per  mile  of  line,  is  directly  attributable  to  two 
causes:  to  the  definite  substitution  of  steel  rails  for  iron 
and  to  the  general  adoption  of  heavier  sections  of  rails. 
The  track  has  thus  become  more  entitled  to  be  called 
"  permanent  way,"  and  these  costly  improvements,  though 
they  have  largely  swelled  capital  account,  hav^  also  eerved 


334  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

to  decrease  the  cost  of  operation,  and  in  this  way  to  help 
out  income. 

The  cost  of  maintenance  of  equipment  does  not  have 
that  direct  relation  to  the  length  of  line  as  does  the  cost  of 
maintenance  of  way.  It  bears  a  much  more  direct  relation 
to  the  number  of  engines  and  cars  in  service.  These  sta- 
tistics are  not  available  for  1888.  In  the  following  com- 
parison those  for  1889  are  used. 

EQUIPMENT,    PER   MILE   OF   LINE. 

Locomotives,  No 29,036  34,788  35,699 

Per  100  miles  of  line 18.9  20.4  20.8 

Cars  of  all  kinds 1,068.555  1,273,946  1,270,561 

Per  100  miles  of  line 695.9  750.3  714.7 

The  decreased  cost  of  maintenance  of  equipment  per 
mile  of  line  in  1895  as  compared  with  1894  may  be  due  to 
the  decreased  number  of  cars  per  mile  of  line,  but  the  de- 
crease as  compared  with  1889  cannot  be  accounted  for  in 
the  same  way;  though,  when  we  ascertain  the  relative  cost 
per  train  mile,  the  result  is  as  follows : 

MAINTENANCE   OP  EQUIPMENT,    PER  TRAIN  MILE. 

1S89.  1893.  1895. 

Train  miles 660,441,377      844.338,276      766,856,853 

Cost  per  train  mile,  cents. . .  16.1  16.2  14.8 

The  uniform  cost  per  train  mile  in  1889  and  1893,  com- 
pared with  the  decreased  cost  in  1895,  invites  the  conclusion 
that,  in  the  last-named  year,  operating  expenses  were  re- 
duced by  neglecting  to  maintain  equipment  in  good  order. 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  cost  of  conducting  trans- 
portation.    This  item  appears  in  the  accounts  as  follows : 

CONDUCTING   TRANSPORTATION. 

1889.                     1893.  1895. 

Per  mile  of  line  $2185               $2565  $2425 

Per  train  mile,  cents 50.1                  51.5  56.2 

Per  cent,  of  total  expenses..              51.53               52.60  59.41 

Train  miles 660,441,377     844,338,276  766,856,853 

While  the  cost  per  mile  of  line  is  less  in  1895  than  in 
1889,  the  cost  per  train  mile  has  risen  from  50.1  cents  to 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  325 

56.2  cents.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the  cost  of  con- 
ducting transportation,  which  amounted  to  but  51.53  per 
cent,  of  the  total  expense  account  in  1889,  was  59.41  per 
cent,  of  the  total  in  1895. 

It  is  singular  that  such  notable  economies  should  have 
been  effected  in  1895  in  maintenance  of  way  and  of 
equipment,  while  the  result  should  have  been  so  different 
in  the  cost  of  conducting  transportation. 

I  have  endeavored  to  account  for  the  decreased  cost  in 
maintenance  of  way  by  the  substitution  of  steel  rails  for 
iron  and  the  substantial  termination  of  that  work.  I  might 
have  included  the  filling  of  trestles  and  the  replacing  of 
wooden  bridges  by  iron  as  other  causes  for  this  decrease  of 
expenses.  I  have  suggested  that  the  decrease  in  the  item 
of  maintenance  of  equipment  is  possibly  due  to  the  post- 
ponement of  repairs,  principally  to  freight  cars.  I  have 
now  to  endeavor  to  account  for  the  remarkable  fact  that, 
with  a  considerable  decrease  in  train  mileage,  the  depart- 
ment of  conducting  transportation  has  cost  4.7  cents  more 
per  train  mile  in  1895  than  in  1893.  This  is  the  more  re- 
markable as  a  principal  item  in  this  department  is  wages, 
which  are  for  the  most  part  paid  by  the  train  mile.  This 
is  a  fact  of  such  importance  that  I  prefer  to  treat  it 
separately  at  some  length.  The  remaining  item  of  general 
expenses  amounted  in  1888  to  $406  per  mile  of  line,  to 
$504  in  1893,  and  to  but  $202  in  1895.  The  reduction  in 
1895  is  mainly  accounted  for  by  a  more  correct  distribution 
of  certain  items  of  expense  to  other  accounts  which  had 
before  been  charged  to  this  account,  but  the  whole  amount 
included  under  the  head  of  general  expenses,  constituting 
in  1895  less  than  5  per  cent,  of  the  total,  is  too  small  for 
extended  comment. 

As  just  intimated,  the  matter  of  wages  paid  employees  is 
of  such  importance  as  to  warrant  the  specific  investigation 
of  the  subject  contained  in  my  address  delivered  at  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Railway  Association  on  April 


S26  AMERICAK   RAILWAY   MAKAGEMEl^^T. 

11,  1894,  to  which  further  reference  will  be  made.  The 
total  number  of  railway  employees  reported  in  each  of 
several  years  is  as  follows : 

NUMBER   OF   RAILWAY  EMPLOYEES. 

Total.  Per  100  Miles  of  Line. 

1889 704,743  459 

1890 749,301  479 

1893 873.603  515 

1895 785,034  441 

The  number  of  employees  is  not  reported  for  1888,  nor 
is  the  detailed  information  concerning  them  fully  given 
until  the  year  1890,  but  the  maximum  number  of  em- 
ployees per  mile  of  line  was  reached  in  1893  and  the 
minimum  in  1895. 

These  employees  were  distributed  among  the  several 
departments  proportionally  as  follows : 

PROPORTIONATE   DISTRIBUTION   OF  EMPLOYEES. 

Department.                            1890.  1893.  1895. 

Maintenance  of  way 26. 1  29.3  28.9 

Maintenance  of  equipment. . .   16.5  20.1  19.8 

Conducting  transportation. . .   37.4  45.5  46.2 

General  Administration 3.3  4.1  4.1 

Unclassified 16.7  1.0  1.0 

The  figures  for  1890  are  not  valuable  for  comparison 
since  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  number  of  employees  re- 
mained unclassified.  As  between  1893  and  1895,  the  rel- 
ative distribution  was  quite  uniform,  there  having  been  a 
slightly  increased  proportion  in  1895  under  the  head  of 
conducting  transportation,  which  includes  nearly  one  half 
of  the  total  number  of  employees. 

It  may  be  profitable  to  examine  the  changes  in  the 
several  departments  more  in  detail,  but  the  conclusions  so 
far  as  they  relate  to  1890  are  vitiated  by  the  deficient  dis- 
tribution in  that  year.  The  principal  value  of  this  discus- 
sion relates,  therefore,  to  the  years  1893  and  1895. 

The  number  employed  in  maintenance  of  way  is  re- 
ported as  follows: 


MlSCELLAKEOtrS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  327 

EMPLOYEES. — MAINTENANCE  OP  WAY. 

Total.  Per  100  Miles  of  Line.    Cost  of  Department 

per  Mile  of  Line. 

1890 195,367  125  $976 

1893 256,213  151  997 

1895 226,839  128  810 

With  an  increase  in  force  of  20  per  cent.,  the  cost  of 
maintenance  of  way  was  but  2  per  cent,  more  in  1893 
than  in  1890,  while  in  1895  with  2  per  cent,  increase  in  force 
over  1890,  the  cost  per  mile  was  16  per  cent.  less.  As 
already  stated,  this  economy  was  due  to  the  completion  of 
the  work  of  substituting  steel  rails  for  iron,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  embankments  and  iron  bridges  for  wooden 
bridges  and  viaducts.  How  much  of  this  saving  was  taken 
out  of  wages  is  hard  to  say.  The  average  wages  of  a  section 
foreman  is  reported  at  $1.76  per  day  in  1892,  and  at  $1.70 
in  1895,  the  average  wages  for  trackmen  being  respectively 
$1.22  and  $1.17. 

A  comparison  of  1893  with  1895  shows  a  decrease  of  15 
per  cent,  in  the  number  of  employees  per  100  miles  of  line, 
and  of  18  per  cent,  in  the  cost  of  the  department. 

EMPLOYEES.— MAINTENANCE  OP  EQUIPMENT. 

„     „      ,  «     «ft«  „.,     T  •  Cost  Department  per 

No.  Employees.       Per  100  Miles  Line.  Mile  of  Line 

1890 125.403  79  |730 

1893.1 175,464  103  806 

1895 155,630  88  640 

In  1895  there  was  a  decrease  of  14  per  cent,  in  the  num- 
ber of  employees  per  100  miles  of  line,  and  of  20  per  cent, 
in  the  cost  of  this  department  per  mile  of  line  as  compared 
with  1893.  It  has  already  been  stated  that  between  these 
years  the  cost  of  this  department  per  train  mile  decreased 
from  16.2  cents  to  14.8  cents,  a  decrease  of  8  per 
cent.  The  very  considerable  decrease  in  the  number  of 
employees  sustains  the  opinion  already  expressed,  that  the 
diminished  cost  of  maintenance  of  equipment  in  1895  was 
attained  by  neglecting  repairs. 


328 


AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 


EMPLOYEES.  —CONDUCTING   TRANSPORTATION. 


1890. . . 
1893. . . 

No.  Employees. 

..    ..  280,301 
397,915 

Per  100  Miles  Line. 

179 
234 

1895. . . 

362.419 

204 

Cost  Department  per 

Mile  of  Line. 

$2264 

2565 

2425 


Disregarding  the  figures  given  for  1890,  for  the  reasons 
above  stated,  it  will  be  noted  that  in  1895  there  was  a  de- 
crease of  12  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  employees  per  mile 
of  line,  and  of  5  per  cent,  in  the  cost  of  this  department 
as  compared  with  1893. 

The  fluctuations  in  the  cost  of  this  department  bears  a 
more  direct  relation  to  the  volume  of  traffic  than  do  those 
in  the  cost  of  any  other  of  the  departments  as  classified  in 
these  reports,  and,  as  this  department  in  1895  covered 
nearly  60  per  cent,  of  the  total  expense  and  46  per  cent. 
of  the  total  number  of  employees,  it  may  be  well  to 
examine  into  its  affairs  in  greater  detail  for  the  years  1893 
and  1895. 


DISTRIBUTION  OP  EMPLOYEES. 


How  Employed. 

Total  Number. 

Per  100  Miles  of  Line, 

Station  agents. 

1893. 

28,019 
75,181 
38.781 
40,359 
27.537 
72,959 

46,048 

22,619 
46,412 

1895. 
29.014 
73,569 
34,718 
35,516 
24,776 
62,721 

43.158 

20,984 
37,963 

1893. 
17 
44 
23 
24 
16 
43 

27 

13 

27 

1895. 

16 

Other  statioumen 

Eniirinemeii 

41 
20 

Firemen 

20 

Conductors 

14 

Other  trainmen 

35 

Switchmen,    flagmen,    and 
watchmen 

24 

Telegraph     operators    and 
dispatchers 

12 

Unclassified 

22 

Total 

397,915 

362,419 

234 

204 

The  reduction  as  shown  above  affected  every  class  of 
transportation  employees,  but  in  different    proportions. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  3^9 

For  every  engineman  and  fireman  that  was  dropped,  there 
were  also  two  conductors  and  eight  brakemen.  This  cor- 
responds very  nearly  to  an  ordinary  train  crew,  as  the  con- 
ductors and  brakemen  generally  make  more  mileage  than 
the  engine  crew  does.  For  each  station  agent  dropped 
there  were  also  five  stationmen,  three  switchmen,  etc., 
one  telegraph  operator,  and  five  unclassified  employees. 

It  is  easy  to  ascertain  whether  the  decrease  in  the  num- 
ber of  train  employees,  compared  with  the  decrease  in  the 
train  mileage,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  statement : 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL  TRAIN  MILEAGE  FOR  EACH  TRAIN  EMPLOYEE. — 
AVERAGE  MILES  RUN  ANNUALLY. 

How  Employed.  1893.  1895. 

Enginemen 21,766  32,088 

Firemen 20,920  21,591 

Conductors 31,021  30,951 

Brakemen,  etc 11,573  12,226 

As  between  the  several  classes  of  employees  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  engineman  averages  a  little  higher  mileage 
than  the  fireman,  and  that  the  conductor  averages  about 
half  as  much  mileage  as  the  engineman.  The  average 
mileage  of  the  brakeman  is  less  than  one  third  of  that  of 
the  conductor;  i.e.,  an  average  of  more  than  three  brake- 
men  in  a  train  crew. 

Comparing  1893  and  1895,  the  reduction  among  the  train 
employees  follows  the  decreased  mileage  very  closely,  still 
there  is  a  higher  average  train  mileage  for  each  class  of 
employees  except  the  conductors. 

EMPLOYEES  IN   GENERAL  ADMINISTRATION. 

,,     ^      ,  T.     .r.^ ,,.,     T  ■  Cost  Department  per 

No.  Employees.       Per  100  Miles  Lme.  Mile  of  Line 

1890 24,648  16  $449 

1893 35,384  31  504 

1895 52,525  18  202 

The  change  in  the  manner  of  distributing  the  charges  to 
this  department  between  1893  and  1895  renders  valueless 
any  comparison  of  the  figures  for  those  years,  as  has  al- 


330  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MAKAGBMEl!rT. 

ready  been  explained,  but  the  total  amount  involved  is  so 
small  that  it  may  be  disregarded  in  considering  the  cost 
of  operations  as  a  whole. 

In  my  address  before  the  American  Railway  Association 
on  April  11,  1894,  already  referred  to,  it  was  stated  that 
salaries  and  wages  constituted  about  two  thirds  of  the 
total  cost  of  operations  of  an  average  railroad  in  this 
country.  It  is,  therefore,  plainly  the  case  that  the  welfare 
of  the  vast  body  of  railway  employees  is  closely  associated 
with  the  fluctuations  in  the  volume  of  traffic,  and  in  the 
rates  of  compensation  for  that  service. 

EMPLOYEES  IN   1893    AND   1895. 

Total  Number.  Per  100  Miles  of  Line. 

1893 873,602  515 

1895 785,034  441 

Decrease 88,568  74 

Of  that  great  army,  approximately  one  million  of  men, 
that  was  actively  engaged  in  railroad  service  in  1893, 
nearly  90,000  had  been  discharged  in  1895. 

These  men  were  dismissed  from  the  several  classes  of 
employment  as  follows : 

DECREASE  IN  THE   SEVERAL  CLASSES  OP  EMPLOYEES  FROM 

1893  TO  1894. 

1893.                1895.  Decrease.  Per  Cent. 

Maintenance  of  way 256,213  226,839  29,373  11 

Maintenance  of  equipment..  175,464  155,630  19,834  11 

Conducting  transportation.  397.915  362,419  35,496  9 

General  expenses 35,384  32,525  2,859  8 

Unclassified 8,627           7,621  1,006  11 

Total 873,602        785,034        88,568 

The  reduction  fell  heaviest,  proportionately,  on  the  de- 
partments of  maintenance  of  way  and  equipment,  which 
was  to  be  expected,  since  repairs  and  improvements  may 
be  deferred  when  times  are  hard,  but  trains  must  be  kept 
running. 


MISCELLAKSiOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  331 


Conclusion's. 

The  information  contained  in  the  reports  of  the  Inter- 
State  Commerce  Commission  for  the  period  of  eight  years 
from  1888  to  1895  has  now  been  analyzed  and  presented 
in  a  variety  of  ways  as  applicable  to  a  consideration  of  the 
present  value  of  railroad  property  in  this  country,  especial 
attention  having  been  given  to  the  conditions  affecting  it 
in  1888,  the  date  of  the  first  report;  in  1893,  when  the 
volume  of  traffic  had  reached  its  height,  and  in  1895,  the 
latest  date  for  which  statistics  have  been  published.  At- 
tached to  this  paper  are  several  tables  in  which  these  sta- 
tistics are  presented  for  each  of  the  years  reported  upon. 

The  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  these  reports  are 
principally  as  follows  : 

The  railroad  mileage  of  this  country  increased  between 
1888  and  1893  from  136,883  to  169,779  miles,  an  average 
annual  increase  of  6579  miles.  It  increased  in  1894  5911 
miles,  and  in  1895  2056  miles,  the  total  mileage  at  the  end 
of  that  year  being  177,746  miles. 

The  great  system  of  railways  which  has  been  at  the 
foundation  of  the  development  of  the  resources  of  our 
country  may  be  looked  upon  as  substantially  complete. 
There  will  be  but  little  more  railroad  constructions  for  the 
purpose  of  "building  up  the  country^';  additional  mileage 
hereafter  will  be  constructed  as  may  be  required  for  exist- 
ing traffic.  The  demand  for  additional  capital  will  be 
mainly  for  the  improvement  of  existing  lines,  and  greater 
attention  will  be  paid  by  capitalists  to  safe  investments 
than  to  speculative  profits.  The  day  for  exploiting  state 
and  municipul  treasuries  in  the  interest  of  promoters  has 
passed  away,  never  to  return.  Would  that  it  could  be  said 
that  there  would  be  no  return  of  the  bankruptcies,  receiver- 
ships, and  reorganizations  which  follow  upon  the  trail  of 
Chese  same  promoters  after  their  occupation  has  vanished. 

But  how  can  this  be  expected   when  we  are  informed 


332  AMERICAK"   RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

that  in  1895  there  was  70  per  cent,  of  the  capital  stock  of 
the  railroads  of  this  country,  or  $3,475,000,000,  on  which 
no  dividend  was  paid,  while  in  1888  but  61  per  cent.,  or 
12,374,000,000,  went  without  a  dividend  ?  Nor  has  the 
total  capital  stock,  per  mile  of  line,  increased  in  the  interim. 
It  was  stated  at  $28,232  per  mile  of  line  in  1888  and 
at  $27,912  in  1895. 

In  the  meantime  the  gross  earnings  per  mile  of  line, 
which  increased  from  $6652  per  mile  in  1888  to  $7213  in 
1892,  has  fallen  to  $6050  in  1895,  and  the  net  earnings, 
which  increased  from  $2305  in  1888  to  $2404  in  1892,  were 
down  to  $1968  in  1895. 

The  total  volume  of  freight  traffic  amounted  in  1889  to 
448,069  tons  per  mile  of  line  and  in  1895  to  479,490  tons 
per  mile.  In  1889  the  earnings  from  freight  service  were 
$4205  per  mile  and  in  1895  $4130  per  mile. 

The  passenger  traffic,  which  represented  75,325  pas- 
sengers per  mile  of  line  in  1889,  with  earnings  from 
passenger  train  service,  including  express  and  mails,  of 
$1957  per  mile,  had  diminished  in  1895  to  68,572  passen- 
gers per  mile  with  train  earnings  of  $1765  per  mile.  In 
the  meantime  the  rate  per  ton  mile  on  freight  had  de- 
creased from  0.922  cents  per  ton  mile  to  0.839  cents,  and 
the  rate  per  passenger  mile  from  2.165  cents  to  2.040  cents. 
These  seem  but  minute  discriminations,  but  when  applied 
to  the  traffic  of  1895  of  85,227,515,891  ton  miles  and 
12,188,466,271  passenger  miles,  they  amount  to  a  total  de- 
crease in  net  earnings  of  $86,974,395.  This  is  nearly 
$2,000,000  more  than  the  entire  amount  which  was  paid 
out  for  dividends  in  1895,  and  the  fact  here  stated  serves  to 
show  how  important  it  is  to  the  welfare  of  the  railroad 
property  in  this  country  that  there  should  be  a  substantial 
assurance  of  the  maintenance  of  rates. 

We  have  now  before  us  the  facts  as  to  railroad  operations 
for  eight  years  from  the  establishment  of  the  Inter-State 
Commerce  Commission;  facts  compiled  by  that  body  and 


MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES,  ETC.  333 

included  in  its  annual  reports,  official,  impartial,  and  there- 
fore irrefutable.  They  prove  that,  with  unrestricted  com- 
petition, the  tendency  of  rates  of  transportation  is  inevita- 
bly downward ;  that  in  these  eight  years,  or  rather  in  seven 
years  from  1889,  the  reduction  in  rates  has  resulted  in  a 
loss  of  net  revenue  in  1895  greater  than  the  entire  amount 
applied  to  dividends  in  that  year.  Is  not  that  a  calamity 
to  the  country  ?  If  we  are  to  disregard  the  interests  of 
those  whose  capital  is  interested  in  these  useful  enterprises, 
without  hope  of  return ;  the  little  all  of  many  a  widow  and 
orphan,  the  trust  funds  of  charitable  and  educational  in- 
stitutions ;  are  we  to  disregard  the  welfare  of  nearly  ninety 
thousand  men  who  were  dropped  from  the  railroad  pay- 
rolls in  1895  in  the  effort  to  decrease  expenses  with  de- 
creasing income  ?  The  cries  of  the  widow  and  orphans 
may  not  be  heard  when  deprived  of  the  little  pittance  of  a 
railroad  dividend,  but  the  threats  of  the  army  of  nearly  a 
million  stalwart  railroad  employees  will  be,  when  it  dawns 
upon  their  minds  that  their  ranks  are  to  be  decimated  and 
their  wages  reduced,  so  that  the  United  States  may  boast  of 
continually  decreasing  rates  of  railroad  transportation. 

Our  country  has  just  aligned  itself  on  the  line  of  pro- 
tection to  our  home  industries,  avowedly  in  the  interest  of 
the  factory  employee  and  the  miner;  the  prices  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  their  labor  are  to  be  advanced  that  their  wages  may 
be  increased.  Let  some  part  of  this  advance  go  to  the  rail- 
road employees  also,  to  the  men  who  receive  nearly  one  half 
of  the  gross  railroad  earnings.  Not  by  legislative  enactment, 
but  by  granting  permission  to  the  railroad  managements  of 
the  country  to  charge  the  published  rates;  to  protect  them- 
selves against  the  reckless  competition  and,  in  frequent 
instances,  the  fraudulent  conduct  of  a  small  minority  of 
their  number. 

As  matters  now  stand,  the  honest,  the  conscientious  rail- 
road managers  are  powerless  for  good.  If  they  seek  to 
conduct  their  business  honestly,  to  treat  all  shippers  alike, 


334  AMERICAN    RAILWAY   MANAGEMENT. 

to  demand  the  published  rates  without  discrimination  of 
persons,  their  business  leaves  them  and  goes  to  their  un- 
scrupulous competitors,  and  this,  too,  in  the  face  of  a  law 
which  explicitly  makes  such  discrimination  a  crime.  Yet 
that  which  the  law  denounces  in  one  breath,  in  another  it 
justifies.  The  bulwark  which  it  erects  for  the  protection 
of  the  law-abiding  railroad  manager  and  the  unsuspecting 
shipper  is  undermined  by  connivance  between  cunning 
traffic  officials  and  favored  shippers. 

There  is  no  discrimination  so  unjust,  so  hateful,  as  that 
which  selects  a  patron  in  eacli  line  of  trade  in  each  com- 
mercial center,  and  secretly  sustains  him  in  his  rivalry  with 
his  competitors  by  rebates  and  other  substantial  favors. 
Necessarily  the  one  so  favored  will  continually  increase  his 
own  business  at  the  expense  of  his  defenseless  rivals.  And 
this  is  what  is  going  on  all  over  this  country;  in  nearly  every 
line  of  business,  the  lion's  share  is  thus  being  diverted  into 
the  den  of  the  crafty  fox.  And  all  the  time  the  law 
denounces  this  unjust  discrimination  as  a  crime,  with 
penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment!  Since  the  law  de- 
nounces these  practises,  why  does  not  the  honest  man- 
ager invoke  its  protection  ?  Because  it  is  useless  for  him 
to  run  counter  to  the  selfish  interests  of  heavy  shippers 
and  enter  into  the  courts  of  justice,  where  the  public 
prosecutor,  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Commission,  has  so 
signally  failed. 

As  a  fact,  public  opinion  bars  the  way  to  a  successful 
application  of  the  law  against  individual  discrimination. 
What  the  shipper  wants  is  Yiot  uniform  rates,  but  a  lower 
rate  in  secret  than  his  neighbor  can  obtain.  The  railroad 
manager  finds  no  support  from  this  source  and  finds  his 
competitive  business  enticed  away  from  him  by  stratagems 
which  he  cannot  employ  and  remain  a  law-abiding  citizen. 
It  is,  of  course,  impracticable  to  obtain  accurate  informa- 
tion as  to  the  effect  of  these  practices  upon  railroad  earn- 
ings, but  from  my  personal  opportunities  for  observation 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  335 

I  have  formed  the  opinion  that  the  net  earnings  from 
competitive  freight  traffic  are  reduced  not  less  than  10 
per  cent,  by  unjust  discrimination  in  favor  of  individuals. 

Admitting  the  extent  of  this  evil,  where  shall  we  look 
for  a  remedy  ?  To  further  legislation  ?  To  more  extended 
power  to  the  railroad  commissions  ?  Let  him  who  can  iSnd 
encouragement  in  what  has  already  been  done,  suggest 
what  further  can  be  done  in  either  direction. 

There  is,  however,  another  plan  which  has  this  argument 
in  its  favor:  that  it  recognizes  the  Christian  doctrine  of 
leading  us  not  into  temptation.  Take  away  the  tempta- 
tion from  the  traffic  official  to  buy  the  favor  of  the  power- 
ful patron,  and  unjust  individual  discrimination  will  cease. 
And  there  is  no  practical  way  to  remove  this  temptation 
except  by  agreement  among  the  officials  themselves.  Make 
it  lawful  for  them  to  enter  into  such  agreements,  and  they 
will  apply  the  remedy  in  accordance  with  the  law  as  at 
present  enacted,  without  unjust  discrimination  between 
persons  or  communities,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  honest 
shipper,  of  the  widow  or  orphan  whose  mite  is  invested  in 
railroad  property,  and  of  the  army  of  employees  whose  daily 
wages  must  surely  be  cut  down  if  unjust  discrimination  is 
to  continue. 

The  other  side  of  the  proposition  is  that,  if  railroad 
managers  are  permitted  to  contract  among  themselves,  they 
may  agree  to  the  public  injury.  Is  the  right  of  contract, 
that  precious  right  for  which  battles  have  been  waged  and 
governments  overthrown,  the  slow  growth  of  centuries  and 
the  boast  of  civilization,  to  be  lightly  set  aside  where 
thousands  of  millions  of  dollars  are  invested  ? 

To  justify  so  palpable  an  encroachment  upon  the  rights 
of  property,  great  evils  to  the  body  politic  must  clearly  be 
shown  to  have  ensued  from  such  contracts  in  the  past. 
Let  the  evidence  be  produced — or,  to  meet  the  possibility 
of  such  a  result,  if  traffic  agreements  are  to  be  legalized, 
let  them  be  duly  filed  with  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Com- 


336  AMERICAN   RAILWAY   MANAGEMEKT. 

mission.  Let  that  commission  exert  itself  in  the  courts  in 
such  matters  as  vigorously  and  intelligently  as  it  has  here- 
tofore with  the  railroad  companies,  and  our  courts  of  equity 
will  find  a  ready  way  to  interfere  by  restraining  orders 
where  a  fair  showing  can  be  made  that  the  rights  of  third 
parties  are  unjustly  affected  by  such  agreements.  Why 
not  give  this  plan  a  trial  ?  In  the  interest  of  the  investor, 
of  the  shipper,  of  the  railroad  employees,  of  honor  and  in- 
tegrity, of  respect  for  the  law,  why  not  give  it  a  trial  ? 
Competition  will  then  be  aboveboard.  The  interests  of 
either  individuals  or  communities  can  be  far  more  readily 
protected  from  the  effect  of  such  open  lawful  agreements 
than  from  agreements  secretly  concocted  and  carried  out 
by  connivance  and  fraud. 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES,  ETC.  337 

TRAFFIC   STATISTICS,    1888   TO   1895. 


In  Cents. 

1888. 

1889. 

1890. 

1891. 

Rate  per  passeuger  mile 

2.349 
2.042 

2.165 
1.993 

2.167 
1.917 

2.142 

Cost  per  ptisseuger  mile 

1  910 

Net  per  passenger  mile 

0.307 

0.172 

0.250 

0.232 

Rate  Dcr  ton  mile 

1.001 
0.630 

0.922 
0.593 

0.941 
0.604 

0  895 

Cost  per  ton  mile 

0.583 

Net  per  ton  mile 

0.371 

0.329 

0.337 

0.312 

Rate  per  passenger  train  mile 

113.92 
84.69 

106.28 
83.06 

108.04 
80.98 

106.111 

Cost  per  passenger  train  mile 

80.453 

Net  per  passenger  train  mile 

29.23 

23.22 

27.06 

25.658 

Rate  per  freight  train  mile 

165.71 

103.87 

165.37 
106.48 

165.43 
105.71 

168  68 

Cost  per  freight  train  mile 

106.17 

Net  per  freight  train  mile 

61.84 

58.89 

59.72 

57.51 

In  Cents. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

Rate  per  passeuger  mile 

2.126 
1.939 

2.108 
1.955 

1.986 
1.720 

2  040 

Cost  per  passenger  mile. 

2  000 

Net  per  passenger  mile 

0.187 

0.153 

0.266 

0.040 

Rate  per  ton  mile 

0.898 
0.582 

0.878 
0.579 

0.860 
0.595 

0.8:9 

Cost  per  ton  mile 

0.555 

Net  per  ton  mile 

0.316 

0.299 

0.265 

0.284 

Rate  per  passenger  train  mile 

106.87 
81.93 

106.81 
82.94 

104.89 
75.37 

97.87 

Cost  per  passenger  train  mile 

76.78 

Net  per  passenger  train  mile 

24.94 

23.87 

29.52 

21.09 

Rate  per  freight  train  mile  

164.61 
106.19 

162.72 
106.76 

155.74 

107.38 

135.94 

Cost  per  freight  train  mile 

105.96 

Net  per  freight  train  mile 

58.42 

55.96 

48.36 

29.98 

N.B. — The  figures  as  to  cost  are  approximate  for  1894  and  1885. 


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INDEX. 


Absolute  block-system.    See  Block-signal  Ststbm. 
Accidents,  railroad,  address  on,  227. 

appendix  to  address  on,  254. 

at  bridges,  classified,  244,  245. 

causes  of,  table  of,  in  detail,  250  et  seq. 

chief  cause  of,  247. 

classification  of  causes  of,  227. 

crossing  or  miscellaneous,  231  et  seq. 

few  beyond  control  of  man,  253. 

from  car-coupling,  Mr.  Garey's  remarks  on,  43. 

from  defects  of  draw-gear,  234. 

equipment,  Increase  of,  232. 

road  and  operation,  decrease  of,  232. 

how  to  diminish,  246. 

increasing  liability  to,  231  et  seq. 

personal  injuries  in,  248,  249,  250. 

prevention  of,  to  cattle,  etc.,  244. 

Railroad  Gazette's  statistics  of,  227,  228. 

serious,  personal  injuries  in,  250. 

to  locomotives,  244. 

to  train  and  yard  men,  43. 

(See  also  Derailments.) 
Accounts,  uniform,  a  system  of,  undesirable,  221. 
Adams,  Mr.  F.  D.,  Prest.  M.  C.  B.  Association. 

appointed  committee  on  uniform  car  platforms,  40. 
chairman  committee  on  draw-bars  and  buffers,  40. 
first  to  suggest  uniform  height  for  car-couplers,  39,  43. 
Addresses  before  American  Railway  Association  : 
committee  work  of  the  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n,  16. 
coSperation,  value  of,  in  questions  of  railway  management,  76. 
cost  of  transportation,  24. 
discipline  on  railroads,  8. 
field  of  usefulness  of  the  Am .  Ry.  Asso'n,  1. 
labor  organizations,  84. 
operating  expenses  of  a  railroad,  96. 
railroad  organization,  128, 

rates  of  transportation  and  cost  of  service,  etc.,  106. 
review  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso^n  work  for  ten  years,  140. 
safety  appliances— car-couplers,  38. 
standard  code  of  train  rules  ;  block-system,  62. 

841 


342  INDEX. 

Addresses,  miscellaneous,  etc.: 

a  railroad  man;  his  training  and  career,  271. 

at  annual  dinner  Western  Railway  Club,  290. 

before  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  Saratoga,  298. 

before  World's  Railway  Commerce  Congress,  227. 

efficient  railroad  management;  advisory  board,  etc.,  153. 

the  road  master  and  the  track  foreman,  286. 

value  of  railroad  property  in  the  U.  S.,  etc.,  S08. 
A.duiinistration  department  of  railroad. 

classification  of,  100. 

expenses  of,  on  S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  168  etseq. 
Advisory  board  to  general  manager. 

advantages  of,  177. 

article  on,  153. 

constitution  and  by-laws  of,  on  "Plant  System,"  168,  169. 

minutes  of.  May  30,  1884,  "  Plant  System,"  170  et  seq. 

organization  of,  "  Plant  System,"  165. 
Agreements  to  maintain  rates.    See  Rates  and  Traffic. 
Air-brakes,  Westinghouse,  great  value  of,  264. 
American  and  European  railway  systems  compared,  295. 
American  methods  on  foreign  railways,  etc. 

address  concerning,  140.  ' 

American  railroads.    See  Railroads. 

rates  of  transportation  and  cost  of  service  on,  106  et  seq. 
American  railway  practice. 

better  than  European  for  new  countries,  144,  295. 

field  for,  in  other  countries,  145,  294. 

need  of  European  enlightenment  concerning,  294. 

value  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n  in  spreading  knowledge  of,  146. 
American  Railway  Association. 

action  of,  simply  recommendatory,  148,  149. 

a  means  of  communication  between  public  and  railroads,  140, 141. 

character  and  objects  of,  2,  75,  84,  148. 

development  of,  due  to  its  committee  work,  23. 

field  of  usefulness  of,  1,  7,  22, 143. 

future  of,  140. 

questions  of  operation  and  management  its  proper  field,  3. 

railroad  mileage  of  U.  S.  represented  by,  28. 

recognized  by  Congress  in  fixing  standards,  342,  298. 

record  of  work  accomplished  by,  76,  83,  84, 140. 

service  of,  in  congressional  legislation,  141. 

value  of  its  standard  code  of  rules,  246. 

when  and  where  organized,  76, 140. 

work  of,  for  ten  years,  reviewed,  140. 
Ames  car-couplers,  trial  of,  recommended  by  M.  C.  B.  Committee,  46. 
Analysis  of  operating  expenses,  value  of,  27. 
Anomalies  in  freight  tariff  of  Georgia  R.  R.  Comm'n,  190  et  seq. 
Anomalous  results  in  comparing  ton-mileage  with  net  revenue,  111. 
Arbitration  in  labor  questions,  difificultips  of,  88,  89,  94. 
Archer  car- couplers,  trial  of,  recommended  by  M.  C.  B.  Committee,  46. 
Asia  and  Africa,  a  field  for  American  railroad  enterprise,  143. 
Atlantic  &  Gulf  R.  R.  Co.,  succeeded  by  S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  158. 
Auditing  of  accounts,  how  ordered  on  "  Plant  System,"  160  et  seq. 
Author,  representative  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n  at  London  meeting  of  International 

Railway  Congress,  148. 


INDEX.  343 

Automatic  couplers.    See  Car-couplers. 

Aveilhe,  A.  A.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170i 

Average  haul,  decrease  of,  1889-93,  123. 

per  passenger,  126. 
Average  train-load,  weight  of,  1893,  123. 

'•  Battle  of  the  gauges,"  the,  261. 

Bessemer  steel,  use  of,  an  epoch  in  railroad  development,  263. 

rails,  323. 
Betterments  not  properly  chargeable  to  cost  of  transportation,  213. 
Blenkinsop's  part  in  locomotive  development,  259. 
Block-signals,  address  on,  62.    (See  also  Signals.) 
Block-signals  and  interlocking,  attention  of  Roadmasters'  Asso'n  directed  to, 

288. 
Block-signal  system,  absolute,  embarrassments  of,  69. 

in  principle  an  absolute  safeguard  against  rear 

Collisions,  17. 
great  cost  of,  precludes  general  adoption,  17. 
necessity  for  eliminating  human  faUibility  in. 
238. 
Block-signal  system,  permissive,  compared  with  absolute,  238. 

engineer  (train),  and  not  flagman,  should  be 
responsible  under,  for  train-protection,  238. 
in  what  respect  any  improvement  over  "  time 
interval,"  69. 
Block-signal  system,  adjuncts  to,  for  automatically  controlling  trains,  73. 
conditions  affecting,  68. 
differences  of  opinion  among  experts  on,  69. 
efflciencj'  of,  in  securing  safe  space-interval,  235. 
essential  requisites  for,  70  et  seq. 
in  what  respect  deficient,  71. 
more  extended  use  of,  recommended,  246. 
necessary  safeguards  in  operating,  71,  72  et  seq. 
three  needs  for  operating  trains  under:  ^ 

1.  Rules  for  the  trainmen.  "1 

2.  Signals  for  information.  y  70. 
8.  Appliances  for  working  signals.] 

value  of,  in  preventing  rear  collisions,  16,  17. 
Bogie,  or  four-wheel  truck,  cause  of  American  variation  from  European  sys- 
tems, 262. 
early  advantages  of,  261. 
Boliman,  inventor  of  type  of  bridge  truss.  262. 
Bonds,  railroad,  table  of  productive  and  non-productive,  per  mile  of  road, 

316. 
Bonds.    (See  also  Capital,  and  Income  Bonds.) 
Books,  use  of,  by  railroad  men,  277. 
Booth,  Henry,  Treas.  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Ry.,  originator  of  tubular  boiler, 

260. 
Boston  &  Albany  R.  R.,  Mr.  F.  D.  Adams,  M.  C.  B.  of,  39. 
Boycott,  the  response  to  lockouts.  87. 

Boylston,  S.  C,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Brakes,  improvement  in.  300. 
Braithwaite,  locomotive  inventor,  259,  261. 
Bridge  accidents,  causes  of.  244. 
Bridges,  necessity  for  guard-rails  on,  245,  246. 


344  INDEX. 

Bridges,  pin-connected,  BoUman  and  Fink  types  of,  262. 

British  hospitality  to  American  delegates  to  International  Ry.  Congress,  292. 

Broken  rails,  over  one-third  of  derailments  caused  by,  242. 

Brunei's  part  in  the  "  battle  of  the  gauges,"  261. 

Bryant,  quotation  from,  225. 

Budget,  establishment  of,  on  "  Plant  System,"  161. 

amount  of,  in  1884, 166. 
Butting  collisions,  standard  code  of  telegraph  rules  a  means  of  preventing, 
67,  246. 
statistics  of,  229  et  seq. 

Canada  Southern  R.  R.,  Mr.  Sutherland  of,  first  announced  principles  of  auto- 
matic couplers,  42. 
Canals  vs.  railroads,  223,  224. 
Capital  and  labor,  relations  of,  87. 
Capital  invested  in  railroad  enterprises,  amount  of,  269. 

increase  of,  1889-93,  ll4. 
Capital  (railroad)  in  stock  and  bonds,  1895,  311. 

per  mile  of  road,  315. 
proportion  of  dividendless,  1888-95,  332. 
statistics  of  earnings  upon,  1888-95,  340. 
Capitalization  of  American  railroads,  percentage  of  entire  net  earnings  upon, 

1895,  317. 
per  mile  of  road,  decrease  of,  1888-95,  316. 
Car-axles,  report  on,  to  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  174. 
Car  capacity  increased— tonnage  decreased,  321. 
Car-couplers,  action  of  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  on,  51. 

Massachusetts  Railroad  Comm'rs  on,  45,  227. 
Michigan  Railroad  Comm'rs  on,  51,  52. 
address  on,  38. 

automatic,  earliest  official  recognition  of  value  of,  by  F.  D. 
Adams,  M.  C.  B.,  Boston  &  Albany  R.  R.,  40. 
first  announcement  of  principles  of,  by  Mr.  Suther- 
land, 42. 
investigation  of,  by  Mass.  Legislature,  44. 
report  on,  by  Com.  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  41. 
sought  by  railroads  previous  to  legislative  investiga- 
tion, 43,  44. 
change  of,  vast  cost  involved  in,  56. 
choice  of,  by  railroad  employees,  vs.  competency  of  M.  C.  B. 

experts,  58. 
committee  of  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  report  of,  on,  46. 
different  kinds  indorsed  for  trial  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  46. 
freight-car,  compulsory  legislation  concerning,  38. 

Janney,  recommended  by  Mr.  Wilder,  46. 
Janney  type  of  contour-line  for,  adopted  as  standard  by  M.  C.  B. 

Asso'n,  48. 
link-and-pln  type  of,  actually  preferred  by  its  maimed  users,  56. 
link-and-pin,  useless  with  power  brakes  on  freight-trains,  47,  48. 
Mass.  Legislature's  action  concerning,  43,  46. 
M.  C.  B.  type  of,  difficulties  in  coupling,  with  link  and  pin,  57. 
first  so  called  at  their  meeting  of  1888,  49. 
formally  adopted,  1889,  50. 

approved  by  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n,  1890,  51. 


INDEX.  345 

Car-couplers,  M.  C.  B.  type,  increasing  use  of,  60. 

number  of  cars  equipped  with,  56. 
Miller  hook,  recommeuded  by  Mr.  Wilder,  46. 
popular  vote  of  employees  on,  vs.  M.  C.  B.'s  20  years'  careful 

research,  55-58. 
public  trial  of,  at  Buffalo,  1885,  47. 

recommendations  of  President  to  Congress  concerning,  58. 
safety,  L.  S.  &  M.  S.  Ry.  first  to  try,  44. 

principles  of,  first  fixed  by  railroads,  44,  45. 
R.  R.  comm'rs  convention's  action  upon,  51, 
Safford  draw-bar  recommended  by  Mass.  R.  R.  Comm'rs,  45. 
that   would   not    intercouple    "prescribed"   by    Mass.   R.  R. 

Comm'rs,  47. 
"  the  most  popular,"  54. 

uniform,  benefits  of  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n's  action  concerning,  306. 
committee  on,  suggested  by  Mr.  Forney,  40. 
congressional  bills  for  adoption  of,  55. 
uniform  height  for,  fundamentally  necessary,  41. 

first  suggested  by  Mr.  F.  D.  Adams,  39. 
vertical-hook  type  established,  49. 

plane,  suggested  by  Mr.  Wall,  46. 
vote  on,  by  N.  E.  railroad  employees  favored  link-and-pin  type, 

57. 
yardraaster's  (N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.)  action  on,  41. 
Car  department  (S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.),  expense  of,  167  et  seq. 
mileage,  committee  on,  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n,  20. 
platforms  (pass'r),  uniform  height  for,  fixed  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  40. 
service,  equitable  compensation  for,  20. 

greater  average  mileage  of,  20,  21. 
mixed  system  of  compensation  for,  21. 
"  per  diem  "  charge  for,  21. 
Cars,  freight,  better  service  from,  needed,  268. 
development  of,  302. 
small  daily  mileage  of,  268. 
passenger,  improvements  in,  299. 
total  number  of,  per  mile  of  line,  323. 
Car-truck  springs,  evolution  of,  300. 
Chalk-mark  of  the  car-inspector,  power  of  the,  60. 
Charleston  &  Savannah  Ry.,  advisory  board  of,  established,  165. 

constitution  of,  168. 
rules  for  flagmen  on,  254. 
Chicago,  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n's  meetings  in,  76,  84. 

Chief  of  train  and  of  station  service  responsible  to  Supt.  of  Transportation,  134. 
Classification  of  freight  rates,  statement  to  Committee  of  U.  S.  Senate  concern- 
ing, 187  et  seq. 
railroad  accidents,  227  et  seq. 
expenses,  207. 
Coal-cars,  rental  of,  21. 

Collisions,  at  crossings  and  stations,  how  prevented,  241,  242. 
causes  and  casualties  of,  in  detail,  250,  252. 
in  railroad  accidents,  proportion  of,  231. 
rear,  passenger-train  more  often  the  rear  train  in,  283. 
places  of  occurrence  of,  234. 
special  classification  of,  233.  .    , 


346  IJSTDEX. 

Collisions,  standard  code  rules  for  preventing  butting,  241. 
statistics  of,  rear  and  butting,  2:;i9  et  seq. 
table  of,  in  the  United  States,  2:39. 

frequency  of,  230. 
(See  also  Rear  Collisions  and  Butting  Collisions.) 
Columbian  Exhibition,  effect  of,  on  passenger  traffic,  115,  117. 
Committee,  American   Railway  Association,  on   block-signals,  etc.,  work  and 
difficulties  of,  67,  68. 
(joint)  on  train  rules,  interlocking,  and  block-signalling,  74,  84,  86. 
on  car  mileage,  20, 

on  safety  appliances,  scope  of,  22,  10,  72. 
on  standard  code  of  train  rules,  16,  62. 
scope  and  duties  of,  62,  63,  67,  70,  74. 
Committee  (M.  C.  B.  Asso'ni  on  automatic  freight-car  couplers,  report  of,  46. 
Committees  (standing),  of  American  Railway  Association,  16. 

their  methods  of  investigation,  84. 
Committees  of  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  repoits  of,  171  et  seq. 
Competition,  between  canals  and  railroads,  results  of,  223,  224. 

fierce,  the  logical  outcome  of  perfected  railroad  construction  and 

methods,  267. 
passenger,  vs.  better  service,  124. 

reckless  and  fraudulent,  evils  of,  333,  334.  ' 

unrestricted,  legal  remedy  for,  suggested,  215. 
Competitive  business,  a  simple  problem  in,  28. 

benefits  of,  to  local  shippers,  195,  196. 
classes  of,  expenses  governing  rates  for,  32. 
combination  of  carriers  for,  justifiable,  197. 
discrimination  in  favor  of,  existed  before  railroads,  220. 
helps  to  pay  expenses  otherwise  borne  by  local  traffic,  30. 
how  to  ascertain  if  it  pays  or  not,  27,  28,  32. 
illegally  obtained,  effect  of,  334. 
pooling  agreements  for,  187. 
rate-cutting  for,  disastrous  policy  of,  103. 
freight  traffic,  a  simple  problem  in,  28. 
rates,  how  fixed  by  Georgia  R.  R.  Commission,  194. 
Compound  locomotives,  284. 
Compressed  air  for  sub-aqueous  foundations,  264. 
ComtroUer,  early  necessity  for,  on  "  Plant  System,"  160. 
Compulsory  legislation  concerning  safety  appliances,  38,  39,  51,  58,  59. 
congressional,  on  automatic  couplers,  51,  58,  55. 
interference  of,  not  needed  as  to  safety-couplers,  55. 
the  car-inspector's  chalk-mark  the  only  kind  needed,  60. 
unreasonableness  of,  as  a  rule,  59. 
Conclusions  as  to  present  value  of  railroad  property  in  the  United  States,  331. 
Conducting  transportation.    See  Transportation. 
Conductor  of  American  trains  compared  with  English  "  guard,"  305. 

his  relations  with  railroad  patrons,  139. 
Conductors,  number  of,  1893-95,  328. 
Congress,  act  of,  cannot  fix  railroad  tariffs,  213. 

concerning  railway  safety  appliances,  298. 
bills  in,  concerning  automatic  couplers,  55. 
service  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n  before  committee  of,  141. 
should  not  require  unifoim  system  of  railway  accounts,  221. 
Consolidation  of  railroad  corporations,  dangers  attending,  184. 


IKDEX.  347 

Contracts  for  maintaining  competitive  rates  should  be  legalized,  197,  198,  206. 
Conway  car-coupler,  trial  of,  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  46. 
Cooperation,  advantages  of,  to  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n,  82. 

characteristic  of  our  present  civilization,  78,  82,  95. 
value  of,  in  considering  questions  of  railroad  management,  76. 
CoSperative  management  (railroad)  advantages  of,  176. 

federative  plan  of,  184, 185. 
Cost  and  revenue  per  freight-train  mile,  123. 

per  passenger-train  mile,  125. 
average,  per  passenger-mile,  119. 

per  ton-mile,  little  value  in  knowing,  28. 
how  ascertained  in  a  transaction  in  competitive  freight,  35. 
Cost  of  conducting  transportation,  122. 

increase  of,  125. 

contrasted  with  cost  of  maintenance  of  way 
and  equipment,  325. 
Cost  of  operation,  details  of,  322. 

per  mile  of  line,  323. 
train  service  should  be  reckoned  by  car-miles,  not  ton-miles,  104. 
traffic  (passenger  and  freight),  etc.  (See  Tables.) 
traffic  per  ton,  passenger  and  train  mile,  statistics  of,  1888-95,  339, 
transportation,  difficulty  in  arriving  at,  202,  203. 

J  theoretical  and  practical  methods  of  determining,  204. 
1  the  three  elements  of,  31. 
Cost  of  transportation  service  on  American  railroads,  106. 
Cost  per  passenger-mile,  in  detail,  1889-93, 124. 
train  mile  in  cents,  125. 
per  train-mile  not  proportionately  reduced  by  equipment  of  greater  capa- 
city, 123. 
specific,  of  competitive  freight-haul  in  relation  to  local,  211, 212. 

of  transportation  should  include  maintenance  of  certain  struct- 
ures, 213. 
betterments  not  included  in,  213. 
unit  of  operating,  cannot  be  much  further  reduced,  81,  93. 
units  of,  practical  value  of,  35. 
Coupling-rod,  the,  an  efficient  safeguard,  56. 
Cowell  car-coupler,  approved  for  trial  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  46. 
Craig,  J.  W.,  member  advisory  board,  "Plant  System,"  170. 
Crossing  collisions,  inexcusable,  241,  242. 
protection  by  interlocking,  73. 

Danger  signals,  rules  for  use  of,  on  "  Plant  System,"  254. 
Defects  of  road  and  equipment,  accidents  from,  229  et  seq. 

track  causing  derailments,  classified,  242. 
Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Co.,  Rastrick's  locomotive  for  (1829),  260. 
Demurrage,  definition  of,  21. 
Departments  of  a  railroad,  classification  of,  100. 

functions  of,  129. 
Derailments,  at  switches,  how  prevented,  246. 
causes  and  casualties  of,  250,  252. 
classified,  242. 

defects  of  track  causing,  242,  243. 
due  to  defects  of  equipment,  243. 
negligence  in  operating,  243. 


348  INDEX. 

Derailments,  frequency  of,  230. 

from  bridge  defects,  classified,  244. 

unforeseen  obstructions,  classified,  844.  , 
in  the  United  States,  229. 
proportion  of,  in  railroad  accidents,  228. 
Derails  on  sidings,  recommended,  246. 

protect  cars  from  fouling  main  line,  241. 
Detailed  causes  of  railroad  accidents,  table  of,  250  et  seq. 
Devices,  the  three,  making  the  success  of  the  locomotive,  260. 
Differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  block  system,  69,  70. 
Discipline  (railroad),  address  on,  8. 

a  higher  view  of  the  question  of,  15. 
as  affected  by  labor  organizations,  4. 
field  for  improvement  in,  246. 
increasing  difficulty  in  enforcing,  247. 
meaning  and  object  of,  8,  9. 
methods  of,  5,  6. 
necessity  for,  4. 

newspapers  and  pubUc  opinion  should  support,  14. 
office  of,  to  ennoble— not  degrade,  14. 
should  be  enforceable  by  the  courts,  14. 
travelling  public  interested  in  enforcement  of,  14. 
usefulness  of,  to  the  employee,  14. 
Discrimination  in  favor  of  competitive  traffic  existed  before  the  railroads,  220. 
freight  rates,  definitions  and  illustrations  of  just  and  unjust, 

187,  et  seq. 
rates,  statement  of,  before  U.  S.  Senate  Committee,  187. 
different  classes  of,  permitted  by  Georgia  R.  R.  Comm'n,   190 

et  seq. 
just  and  unjust,  definition  of,  196. 
unjust,  in  rates,  the  crime  of,  334. 
percentage  of  net  earnings  lost  by,  335. 
public  opinion  a  bar  to  reform  in,  334. 
the  remedy  for,  335. 
Discussion,  value  of,  in  acquiring  railroad  knowledge,  277. 
Distant  signals  for  switch-protection,  241.     (See  also  SIGNALS.) 
Distribution  of  expense  accounts,  27. 
Dividends,  railroad,  paid  in  1891,  268. 
1892,  102. 
1895,  314. 
per  cent  on  stock  actually  paid,  1895,  316. 
Division  superintendent,  all  railroad  operations  on  his  division  should  be  under 
his  supervision,  138. 
his  authority  and  responsibility,  136. 
his  relations  to  roadway  and  machinery  departments, 

137. 
his  relations  with  the  public,  139. 
represents  chief  engineer  and  mech.  supt.  on  his  divi- 

sion,  138. 
should  have  large  discretionary  powere,  139. 
Double-order  system  of  train-dispatching,  83. 
Draw-bars  and  buffers.    See  Car  Couplers. 
Drawbridge  protection  by  interlocking,  73. 
Drawgear,  accidents  from  defects  of,  234. 


INDEX.  349 


Drawbacks.    See  Rebates. 


Earnings  and  expenses,  per  mile  of  line,  decrease  of,  1888-95,  321. 
Earnings,  annual  increase  in  (freight  and  passenger),  compared,  117. 
fluctuations  of,  1888-95,  332. 
gross  and  net,  per  mile  of  line,  1888-95,  339,  340. 

division  of,  between  employee  and  stockholder,  90. 
irregularity  of  increase  in,  109. 
net  (freight),  for  several  years,  110,  112. 
percentage  of  freight  and  passenger  to  gross,  120. 
traffic,  analysis  of,  1888-95,  338. 
(See  also  Freight,  Passenger,  and  Net  Earnings.) 
Electric  motors,  268. 

Emerson,  quotation  from,  15.  • 

Employees,  differences  of,  with  employers,  87,  89. 
a  rational  adjustment  of,  94. 
difficulties  in  dealing  with,  by  railroad  companies,  90  et  seq. 
distribution  of,  in  transpoi-tation  dep't,  328. 
duty  of  enforcing  rules  for,  12. 
examinations  (preliminary)  of,  10,  11. 
material  for,  and  discipline  of,  5,  6. 
number  discharged  in  different  departments,  1895,  330. 
number  of  (total),  in  1889-95,  326. 

in  general  administration  department  and  per  mile  of 
line.  1890-95,  329. 
prerequisites  for  advancement  of,  11. 
qualifications,  fundamental,  of,  10. 
raw  materials  of,  9. 

relations  of  railroad  corporations  to,  5,  269. 
rewards  and  punishments  for,  12. 
suggestion  to  make  organizations  of,  responsible,  94. 
the  first  occupations  of,  9. 
total  number  of,  per  lOO  miles  of  line,  in  the  different  departments, 

327,  328, 
training  of,  in  knowledge  of  rules,  11. 
train,  average  annual  mileage  of,  329. 
Empty-car  mileage,  effect  of,  on  average  train-load,  123. 
Engineer,  civil,  should  be  head  of  roadway  dep't,  131. 
Engineers,  civil,  alone  first  selected  as  railroad  managers,  96. 
Engineer  of  train,  how  informed  if  train  is  in  block  ahead,  67. 

must  be  informed  when  space- interval  is  encroached  upon, 

235. 
responsible,  rather  than  flagman,  for  rear  protection,  236, 237. 
should  use  fusees,  and  protect  train  against  collision,  19. 
Enginemen  and  conductors  on  "Plant  System,"  responsibility  of,  for  protect- 
ing train,  256. 
Enginemeu,  station  collisions  of,  cause  of,  241. 

total  number  of,  189:3-95,  328. 
England,  impressions  of,  292. 
English  practice  in  cases  of  railroad  foreclosure,  183. 

railway-carriage  contrasted  with  American  car,  304. 
Equipment,  cost  of  maintenance  of,  324. 

defects  of,  causing  derailments,  classified,  213. 

freight,  greater  capacity  of,  not  reducing  cost  per  train-mile,  123. 


350  INDEX. 

Equipment,  trust  obligations,  amount  and  character  of,  311,  312. 
Ericsson,  competition  of,  in  locomotive  trial,  L.  &  M.  Ry.,  258,  259. 

coupled  driving-wheels  used  by,  261. 
Erie  canal  maintained  at  expense  of  tax -payers,  223. 

railroad,  telegraphic  order  system  first  used  on,  264. 
Esprit  de  corps  among  railroad  employees,  5,  13. 
Essential  requisites  for  block  systems,  70  et  seq. 
Expenses,  classification  of,  an  aid  to  economy,  33. 
differences  in  classification  of,  323. 
division  of  same  among  different  departments,  101. 
estimates  of  (Budget),  on  "  Plant  System,"  161, 

comptroller's  statement  of  actual,  compared  with,  161, 
164,  169. 
general,  disproportionate  increase  of,  122, 124,  125. 

more  correct  distribution  of,  325. 
of  operation,  classification  of,  26  et  seq. 

and  maintenance,  five  classes  of,  analyzed  as  to  amount 
of  business,  etc.,  207  et  seq. 
operating,  hovsr  varying  with  amount  of  traffic,  208. 
of  a  railroad,  96. 
percentage  of  pay-rolls  to,  90. 
reduction  of,  analyzed,  97  et  seq.  ' 

an  example  of,  98. 
special,  of  freight  and  passenger  business,  enumeration  of,  209. 
(See  also  Cost,  and  Operating  Expenses.) 
Extortion,  charge  of,  not  applicable  to  railroad  rates,  187. 
European  and  American  railway  systems  compared,  295, 

countries,  colonies  of,  an  outlet  for  their  railroad  enterprise,  144. 
railway  officials''  iuappreciation  of  American  methods,  293. 

Federative  plan  of  railroad  cooperative  management,  184,  185. 

Fencing,  railroad,  need  of,  to  prevent  cattle  accidents,  244. 

Fertility  of  resource,  characteristic  of  typical  railroad  man,  80. 

Fink,  Albert,  bridge-truss  inventor,  etc.,  262, 

Firemen,  total  number  of,  1893-95,  328. 

Fires  on  trains,  cases  of,  classified,  245. 

Flagman,  a  makeshift  protection  against  rear  collisions,  17. 

duties  and  difficulties  of,  17,  18. 

duties  of,  most  important,  if  often  ill-performed,  18, 

inefficiency  of,  in  keeping  safe  space-interval  between  trains,  235. 

often  the  least  experienced  man  of  the  train-crew,  18. 

rear,  failure  of,  to  obey  rules,  collisions  from,  236, 
prescribed  duties  of,  236, 

rules  governing,  on  "  Plant  System,"  254. 
Flagmen,  etc.,  total  number  of,  1893-95,  3--'8. 
Flanged  wheel,  Jessop,  inventor  of,  259. 

Fleming,  R,  G.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Foreclosure,  English  and  American  proceedings  in,  183,  184, 
Forney,  Mr.  M.  N.,  committee  on  uniform  car-couplers,  first  suggested  by,  40, 

test  of  automatic  couplers  by,  46, 
Forty  years  of  railroad  service  by  author,  271. 
Franklin's  precepts  a  foundation  of  prosperity,  281. 
Free  passes,  abuse  of,  127, 
Frey,  Mr,  J.  J,,  delegate  to  International  Railway  Congress,  291. 


INDEX.  351 

Freight  and  passenger  business,  relative  amount  of  per  mile,  120. 

special  expenses  of,  209. 
Freifi:ht  and  passenger  departments  of  railroads,  100. 

expenses  of,  on  S.  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  166,  167. 
Freight-cars,  average  daily  load  of,  20, 

dead-vi'eight  of,  reduced  to  half  the  load-weight,  302. 
problem  of  greater  mileage  from,  268. 
total  number  of,  in  use,  20. 

value,  capitalized,  from  increase  in  mileage  of,  20. 
Freight  earnings  compared  with  ton-mileage,  1889-94, 114. 
decrease  of,  1893-94,  109. 
increase  of,  1889-93, 110. 
net,  decrease  of,  1893-94,  112, 113. 
table  of,  annual,  for  five  years,  gross,  109. 

net,  110. 
(See  also  Earnings.) 
Freight  per  ton-mile,  reduction  in,  116. 

Freight  rates,  classification  of,  statement  concerning,  before  Committee  of 
U.  S.  Senate,  187. 
as  adopted  by  So.  Ry.  &  Steamship  Asso'n,  188. 
(See  also  Rates  and  Tariff.) 
Freight  traffic— rate,  cost,  and  net  per  ton-mile,  compared,  121. 

revenue  and  cost.    See  Tables. 
Freight-train  accidents,  classified,  233. 

from  train-parting,  233,  234. 
Freight-train  mile,  revenue  and  cost  per,  123. 

tonnage  decreased— car  capacity  increased,  321. 
Fusees,  time,  advantages  of,  as  protection  against  rear  collisions,  19,  20,  237. 
rules  for  use  of,  on  "  Plant  System,"  254. 
should  be  dropped  by  engineman  when  train  slows  or  stops,  19. 

Gadsden,  C.  S.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Gauge,  change  of,  on  Southern  roads  in  one  day,  60. 
General  manager,  relations  of,  to  subordinate  officers,  138. 

(See  also  Advisory  Board,  and  Railroad  Managers.) 
General  Time  Convention.    See  American  Railway  Association. 
Georgia  Railroad  Commission,  action  of,  on  freight  tariffs,  190. 

dilemma  of,  in  fixing  competitive  rates,  194. 
Georgia  Railroad  Co.,  charter  of,  concerning  freight,  188, 189. 
Government  control  of  railroads,  7. 
Gould,  car-coupler  device  of,  264. 

Griffiths,  Mr.,  remarks  of,  on  failure  of  car-couplers,  42. 
Gross  earnings,  freight  and  passenger,  1895,  312. 

(See  also  Earnings  and  Freight  Earnings.) 
Guard-rails  for  bridges,  necessity  for,  245,  246. 

Hackworth,  locomotive  inventor,  259. 

Haines,  Geo.  W.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 

Harahan,  Mr.  J.  T  ,  delegate  to  International  Railway  Congress,  291. 

Hardee,  W.  P.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 

Harrison,  President,  message  of,  on  uniform  couplers  and  brakes  (1890),  53. 

Haul,  average,  freight  and  passenger,  decrease  of,  123,  125,  381. 

(See  also  "  Long  and  Short  Haul.") 
Head  of  a  railway  system,  principal  duty  of,  157,  158. 


352  INDEX. 

High-speed  passenger-trains,  requirements  for,  266. 

Home  signal.    See  Signals. 

Hopkins,  Mr.,  of  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.,  on  automatic  couplers,  41. 

Human  fallibility,  a  defect  in  block-signal  system,  71,  72. 

Income  bonds,  railroad,  amount  and  character  of,  311,  312. 

considered  as  investments,  314. 
Inspection,  closer,  of  running  equipment,  a  remedy  for  derailments,  243. 
needed  in  railway  no  less  than  in  military  service,  248. 
should  be  thorough  and  timely,  12. 
Interest,  railroad,  amount  paid  per  mile  of  line,  318. 

in  1895, 314. 
percentage  of,  actually  paid  in  1895,  316. 
Interlocking,  development  of,  and  rules  for,  74. 
International  Railway  Congress,  address  concerning,  140. 

delegates  to,  presented  to  the  Queen,  293. 
London  meeting  of,  American  railway  influ. 
ence  at,  146, 147. 
opened  by  Prince  of  Wales, 
293. 
next  (Paris)  meeting  of,  in  1900,  295. 
oflflcial  language  of,  291. 
organization,  meetings,  and  administration  of, 

290. 
relations  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n  with,  142. 
Russian  members  of,  desirous  of  holding  meet. 

inginU.  S.,  295. 
should  be  invited  to  meet  in  America,  147. 
suggestions  concerning,  297. 
value  to  America  of  special  meeting  of,  if  held 
in  U.S.,  295. 
Interstate  commerce,  how  protected  by  natural  water-routes  of  the  country, 

224,  225. 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  convention  of  State  R.  R.  Commissioners  on 

couplers  called  by,  51. 
facts  proved  by  reports  of,  for  eight  years, 

332,  333. 
reports  of,  concerning  coupling  accidents, 

1890,  52. 
report  of,  for  1896  (value  of  railroad  prop- 
erty), 308. 
report  of,  on  accidents,  but  partial,  227. 
statistics  of,  on  railroad  mileage,  114, 

on  revenue  and  cost  (1888-94), 

106  et  seq. 
concerning   dividends,  trafiBc, 
etc.,  1892,  102. 
Statistics,  traffic,  of,  on  what  mileage  based, 
114. 
summary  and   analysis   of,  con- 
cerning railroad  expenses,  121. 
traffic  agreements,  legalized,  should  be  filed 
with,  336. 
Interstate  commerce  legislation,  within  what  limits  advisable,  225, 


INDEX.  353 

Interstate  tariflfs,  establishment  of,  207. 

points  to  be  considered  in  relation  to,  212. 
Investment  capital  in  railroads,  increase  of,  1889-93,  114. 

per  mile  of  road,  115. 
Investments,  railroad,  paying,  315. 

total  returns  on,  1895, 314. 
Iron  rails,  disappearance  of,  263. 
Iron  trade,  scale  of  wages  in,  88. 

Jackson,  O.  W.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Japan,  inquiry  of,  concerning  American  railway  methods,  146. 
Janney,  automatic  close  coupler,  inventor  of,  264. 

Car  Coupling  Co.,  waived  patent  on  contour-lines,  48. 
coupler  approved  for  trial  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  46. 

adopted  as  standard  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  48. 

contoxir-lines  approved  for  standard  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  48. 
Jervis  bogle  truck,  advantages  of,  on  American  roads,  261. 
Jessop,  inventor  of  flanged  wheel,  259. 

Juries  do  not  sufficiently  regard  infractions  of  train  rules,  247. 
Justice  necessary  in  dealing  with  employees  and  discipline,  13, 14. 

Kingsbery,  S.  T.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Kirby,  John,  M.  C.  B.,  L.  S.  &  M.  S.  Ry.  Co.,  remarks  of,  concerning  self-coup- 
lers, 41. 

Labor  and  capital,  relations  of,  87. 
Labor  organizations,  address  on,  84. 

attitude  of  railroad  corporations  toward,  85,  92,  269. 

effect  of,  on  railroad  discipline,  4. 

should  be  incorporated  and  held  to  contract  obligations, 

94. 
support  of,  in  coupler  legislation,  55. 
Legislation  against  railroads,  cause  of,  272. 

class,  would  result  from  subsidizing  canals,  224. 
compulsory,  regarding  safety  appliances,  38,  39. 
congressional,  asked  for,  as  to  safety  couplers,  51,  53. 
interstate  commerce,  to  what  extent  desirable,  225. 
Massachusetts,  as  to  safety  couplers  on  new  or  repaired  cars,  43, 46, 
51. 
failure  of,  51. 
suggested,  concerning  violation  of  train  rules,  15. 
(See  also  Compulsory  Legislation.) 
Lee,  J.  Moultrie,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Liens  upon  railroad  property,  classes  of,  312. 
"  Light  Railways  "—American  roads  so  considered  in  Europe,  294. 
Link-and-pin  couplers  useless  on  freight-trains  with  power  brakes,  47,  48. 
type  of  coupler  demanded  by  employees'  representatives,  56. 
probable  reasons  for  the  anomaly,  56. 
Litigation,  railroad,  evil  character  of,  181. 

Liverpool  and  Manchester  railway,  first  freight-train  on,  laden  with  American 

cotton,  260, 
Henry  Booth,  treasurer  of,  and  the  tubular 

boiler,  260. 
locomotive  trials  on,  258. 
original  gauge  of,  universally  adopted,  261, 


364  INDEX. 

Local  business,  classes  of  expenses  that  it  should  pay,  32. 

must  help  make  good  the  loss  on  competitive  business,  30,  37. 
should  pay  sufficient  toll  to  maintain  road,  30,  195,  207,  212,  213. 
freight  rates,  reasonable  basis  of,  203. 
shippers,  and  freight  adjustments,  213. 

low  through  rates  not  unjust  to,  189,  195, 196. 

no  distinction  of  rates  between,  except  as  due  to  specific  cost 

of  transportation,  220,  221. 
relation  of,  to  long-haul  shippers,  104. 

should  be  legally  protected  against  injurious  competitive  busi- 
ness, 31. 
Lockouts— the  sequel  to  strikes,  87,  88. 

not  applicable  in  the  case  of  railroads,  90. 
Locomotive  department,  expense  of,  on  S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  162, 167  et  seq. 
less  field  for  economy  in,  268. 
development  of,  259,  260. 

increased  capacity  of,  as  affecting  passenger  and  freight  service,  320. 
tubular  boiler  of,  suggested  by  Henry  Booth,  260. 
explosions,  etc.,  244. 

mileage,  cost  of,  as  affecting  through  rates,  29. 
oil-feeders,  report  on,  to  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  171. 
Locomotives,  total  number  of,  and  per  mile  of  line,  323. 
London,  vast  capital  on  deposit  in,  292. 

Long  and  short  haul,  idea  of,  based  on  average  ton-mile  fallacy,  104. 
how  local  shippers  should  regard,  30,  31. 
rates  for,  218. 
Long-haul  freight,  smaller  proportion  of,  in  1895  than  in  1889,  321. 
Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Railway,  first  to  experiment  with  safety- 
couplers,  44. 
remarks  of  Mr.  Kirby,  M.  C.  B.  of,  on  car^couplers,  41. 

Machinery  department,  description  of,  100,  129, 133. 

expense  of,  on  S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry..  162,  166  et  seq. 
head  of,  how  designated,  duties,  etc.,  133. 
management  of,  155,  156. 
Maintenance  of  equipment,  cause  of  decreased  cost  of,  325,  327. 
cost  of,  per  mile  of  line,  1889-95,  324. 
train-mile,  324. 
Maintenance  of  way,  causes  of  decreased  cost  of,  323,  325,  327. 

department  of,  reduction  of  expenses  largely  falls  upon, 

121. 
engineer  of,  his  duties  and  staff,  132. 
(See  also  Roadway  Department.) 
Management.    See  Railroad. 
Margin  of  profit  between  rate  and  cost,  approaching  zero,  309. 

decrease  in,  206,  267, 308. 
per  ton-mile,  7,  121. 
Massachusetts  legislation  concerning  car-couplers,  43,  46,  51. 
investigation  as  to  safety-couplers,  44. 
Railroad  Commissioners,  accident  report  of,  227. 

advice  of,  as  to  rate  of  coal  transpor- 
tation, 204,  214. 
report  and    recommendation   of,    on 
safety-couplers,  45,  46. 


INDEX.  355 

Massachusetts  Railroad  Commissioners,  report  of  (1891).  on  employees'  choice 

of  automatic  couplers,  57. 
Master  car  builder  of  to-day,  the,  an  engineer,  architect,  and  artist,  300. 
Master  Car  Builders'  Association,  action  of,  on  freight-car  couplers,  306. 
address  before,  at  Saratoga,  1896,  298. 
committee  of— report  on  automatic  couplers, 

41. 
first  to  be  interested  in  uniform  couplers,  39. 
good  work  done  by,  298. 
remarks  by  Mr.  Garey,  president  of,  on  self- 
couplers,  41-48. 
Master  Car  Builders'  standard  axle,  journal-box,  and  body-bolster,  establish- 
ment of,  304. 
type  of  safety-coupler,  formally  adopted,  1889,  50. 

approved    by    Am.  Ry.  Asso^n, 

1890,  51. 
fitly  named,  49. 
used  on  over  200,000  cars,  56. 
Macadam  roads,  reference  to,  258. 
McConway's  automatic  close  couplers,  benefits  of,  264. 
McKee,  H.  H.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
McKee,  W.  B.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
McSwiney,  E.  P.,  member  advisory  board,  "Plant  System,"  170. 
Mechanical  superintendent,  his  duties  and  staff,  133. 
Michigan  Railroad  Commissioners'  approval  of  M.  C.  B.  coupler,  51,  52. 
Mileage  and  earnings,  increase  and  decrease  in.  111. 

of  railroads  in  United  States,  increase  of,  1889-94, 114. 

1888-95,  331. 
mostly  single-track,  67. 
statistics  of,  1888-95,  339. 
total,  265. 
train,  increase  of,  in  passenger  over  freight,  but  with  less  proportionate 
revenue  from,  320. 
Miller  hook  (car-coupler),  46 

Minimum  rates,  how  ascertained  on  S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  example  of,  210. 
Minutes  of  advisory  board  to  general  manager,  "  Plant  System,"  170  et  seq. 
Mitchell  car-coupler,  approved  for  trial  by  Com.  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  46. 
Mixed  trains,  railroads  first  operated  with,  79. 
Moran,  of  Erie  R.  R.,  originator  of  telegraphic  order  system,  264. 
Morel,  C.  T.,  member  advisory  boai  d,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 

Net  earnings,  accelerated  decrease  of,  321,  322. 
changes  in,  1892-94,  113. 
distribution  of,  1895,  313. 
from  railroad  operations,  in  1895,  313. 
method  of  ascertaining,  for  1895,  313. 
passenger,  increase  and  decrease.  1889-93,  118. 
Net  revenue  per  passenger-  and  freight -train  mile,  1888-95,  319. 
Newspaper  abuse  of  railroad  companies,  6. 

unfounded  criticism  of.  39,  44,  49. 
Newspapers  should  advocate  punishing  by  law  any  violation  of  train  rules,  15. 
New  York,  Am.  Py.  Asso'n  meetings  held  at,  76. 
N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.,  Mr.  Garey 's  remarks  on  self -couplers,  41. 

Theo.   Voorhees,    Gen.    Supt.    of,  moved   adoption   of 
M-  C.  B.  type  automatic  couplers,  50. 


356  INDEX. 

New  York  Central  System,  an  example  of  railroad  growth,  271. 

N.  Y.,  L.  E.  &  W.  R.  R.— Mr.  Wilder's  recommendation  of  uniform  couplers,  46. 

Obedience  to  orders,  prompt,  as  necessary  in  railroad  as  in  military  service 

247. 
Officials,  transportation,  remarks  on  promotion  of,  263,  265. 
Operating  department,  management  of,  1.56. 

expenses  of  a  railroad,  address  on,  96. 

classification  of,  analyzed,  99  et  $eq. 
percentage  of  pay-rolls  to,  90. 
relations  of,  to  dividends,  97. 
(See  also  Expenses  and  Cost.) 
negligence  in,  derailments  caused  by,  classified,  843. 
Operation,  railroad,  cost  of,  in  detail,  322. 

per  mile  of  line,  323. 
departments  of,  classified,  100. 
expense  of,  classified,  26  et  seq. 
lowest  unit  of  cost  of,  nearly  reached,  81. 
Orders,  better  enforcement  of,  needed,  247,  248. 
Organization,  railroad,  address  on,  128. 

difference  between  present  and  past,  155. 

Passenger  and  ton  mile,  futility  of  units  of  cost  of,  310. 

cars,  American  type  of.  and  improvement  in,  264,  299. 

problem  of  reducing  dead-weight  in,  303. 
earnings,  annual  increase  of,  1889-93,  117, 119. 
decrease  of,  in  1894,  117. 
net,  for  1894,  compared  with  1893, 118. 

increase  and  decrease  of,  1889-93, 118. 
outlook  for,  118. 
(See  also  Earnings  ) 
mile,  absurdity  of  considering  it  an  equivalent  of  ton-mile,  34. 
average  cost  of,  a  misleading  basis  for  tariffs,  25,  29,  35. 
per,  in  cents,  119. 
;  revenue  and  cost  per,  1889-94,  115. 

r       unexpected  increase  in  cost  per,  124. 
Passenger-miles,  total  increase  of,  1889-93,  116,  117. 
Passengers  per  passenger-mile,  reduction  in,  116. 
Passenger  service,  cost  of,  compared  with  freight,  35. 
traflQc,  annual  increase  of,  1889-93, 116. 

revenue  and  cost  of,  per  passenger-mile,  116. 
(See  also  Tables.) 
total  increase  of,  1889-93, 117. 
volume  of,  during  5  years,  compared,  116. 
train  accidents,  statistics  of,  233. 

mile,  revenue  and  cost  per,  125. 
Patriarchal  railroad  management,  a  thing  of  the  past,  155. 
Pay-rolls,  percentage  of,  to  operating  expenses,  90. 
P  ,  C.  &  St.  L.  Ry  — Mr.  Wall's  motion  for  vertical  plane-couplers,  46. 
Penalties  for  employees'  shortcomings,  12,  13. 
Percentage  of  different  classes  of  R.  R.  accidents,  228. 
Permissive  brock  system.    (See  Block-signal  System.) 
Personal  injuries  from  R.  R  accidents,  causes  of,  classified,  249,  250. 
Persons  killed  and  injured  in  R.  R.  accidents,  classified,  248  et  seq. 
Plant,  Mr.  H.  B.,  president,  etc.,  158. 


INDEX.  357 

'•  Plant  System,"  advisory  board  of,  153,  165,  168,  177. 
auditing  of  accounts  on,  160  et  seq. 
expenses  of,  estimated  and  actual,  161,  164,  167. 
organization  and  management  of,  158,  159  et  seq. 
rules  Koverning  flagmen  on,  254. 
Pooling  agreements  for  competitive  business,  37. 
propriety  of  legalizing,  215. 

statement  concerning,  before  Com.  U.  S.  Senate,  187. 
value  of  legal  recognition  of,  216. 
system,  defense  of,  198, 

advantages  of,  if  legalized,  200. 
1  ools,  effect  of  prevention  of,  7. 

i'opulation,  increase  of,  gaining  on  country's  resources,  280. 
Prendergast,  F.  S.,  member  advisory  board,  "Plant  System,"  170. 
President  of  United  States,  recommendations  of   (1890),  concerning  uniform 

brakes  and  safety-couplers,  52. 
Promoters  of  railroads,  their  day  over,  331. 
Protection  of  industries  contrasted  with  needs  of  railroad  employees,  333. 

trains  by  other  agency  than  train-men,  66. 
Public  opinion  a  bar  to  legal  remedy  against  unjust  discrimination  in  rates,  334. 
concerning  safety  appliances,  38. 

railroad  managers,  180. 
should  sustain  railroad  discipline,  14,  247. 

railroads  in  maintaining  rates,  197. 
Publicity  of  rates  a  reasonable  requirement,  205. 
Pullman  sleeping-cars,  a  necessity  in  long-distance  travel,  263,  299. 
Purchasing  department  of  railroads,  131. 

Queen's  garden-party  at  Windsor,  in  honor  of  International  Railway  Congress, 


Railroad  accidents,  causes  and  safeguards  of,  address^p, 

chiefly  caused  through  disobedjeilce  of  employees,  847. 
(See  also  Accidents.)  ■ 

Branch  Y.  M.  C.  A.  (New  York),  address  before,  271. 

Commissioners,  Massachusetts,  accident  report  of,  46,  47. 

rtion  of,  on  car-coupling  problem, 
827. 
(authorized  to  investigate  subject  of 
self-couplers,  44.  \ 

report  on,  45. 
report  of,  January,  1891,  57. 
special  advice  of,  on  coal  transporta- 
tion, 204,  214. 
Georgia,  on  uniform  freight  classification,  189.  / 

station-grouping  ignored  by,  in  making  tar- 
iffs, 190. 
Michigan,  action  of,  on  automatic  couplers,  51,  52. 
state,  meetings  of,  1890, 1891,  51,  52.  ^^„^- 
corporations  and  their  employees,  relations  between ,'"^76. 
abuses  attending  consolidation  of,  184. 
attitude  of,  toward  labor  organizations,  85,  92,  269. 
divisible  into  two  parts  :  corporate  and  operating,  128. 
do  not  "  sell  "  transportation,  218. 


358  INDEX. 

Railroad  Corporations  federation  plan  of  management  of,  184, 185. 
functions  and  obligations  of,  89,  90  et  seq.,  93, 
newspaper  abuse  of,  6. 
relations  of,  with  the  general  public,  6. 
reputation  of,  what  classes  of  officials  make  or  mar,  138. 
Day,  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  address  on,  258. 
development,  its  past,  present,  and  future,  258. 
discipline,  a  way  to  encourage  esprit  de  corps,  5. 

how  disturbed  by  labor  organizations,  4. 
necessity  for,  4. 
(See  also  Discipline.) 
employees,  advancement  of,  prerequisites  for,  11. 

application  of  military  principles  in  handling,  6. 
condition  and  early  experiences  of,  272. 
corporation  duties  and  benefits  to,  6. 
essential  qualifications  of,  10. 
faithful  supervision  of,  necessity  for,  12. 
preliminary  examinations  of,  10,  11. 
raw  materials  for,  9. 

relations  of,  with  railroad  corporations,  5. 
selection,  training,  and  discipline  of,  5,  6. 
system  of  re-wards  and  punishments  for,  12. 
thorough  knowledge  of  rules  indispensable  in,  11. 
(See  also  Employees.) 
engineers,  Euiopean,  not  favorably  impressed  with  American  railroad 

practice,  294. 
Gazette,  accident  statistics  of,  227-228. 
legislation,  federal  and  state,  6. 
life,  the  way  to  eminence  in,  307. 
man,  a  :  his  training  and  character,  271. 

surer  than  others  of  steady  employment,  281. 
typical,  characteristic  of,  80. 
managers,  change  in  scope  of,  265. 

civil  engineers,  the  first,  96. 
responsibility  and  mental  isolation  of,  77. 
management,  efficient,  article  on,  153. 

federal  type  of,  the  best,  157. 
over-centralization  in,  to  be  guarded  against,  157. 
value  of  cooperation  in  questions  of,  76. 
men,  three  classes  of— bad,  steady,  restless,  273-275. 
mileage  in  U.  S.,  total,  and  increase  of,  1888-95,  265,  331. 
more  miles  of,  centering  in  Chicago  under  fewer  managers  than  else- 
where, 78. 
operations  in  1895,  financial  results  of,  311. 
organization,  address  on,  128. 

departments  of,  129, 130. 
improvement  in,  265. 
on  large  roads,  135. 
problems  of  the  past,  259. 

present,  262. 
future,  266-269. 
supplies,  departments  of,  131. 
system,  proper  organization  of,  4. 

the,  of  the  U.  S.,  substantially  completed,  831. 


INDEX.  350 

Hailroad  system,  wonderful  extension  of,  in  America,  262, 

tariffs,  fallacy  of  using  rate  and  cost  per  ton  and  passenger-mile  in 
establishing,  25,  28. 
how  determined,  25. 
problem  of  making,  24. 
(See  also  Tariffs.) 
Railroads,  American,  rates  of  transportation  and  cost  of  service  on,  106. 

beneficiaries  of,  should  pay  cost  of  operation  and  mainte- 
nance, 30. 
consolidation  of,  tendency  to,  153. 

analogy  between  law  of  gravity  and,  154. 
government  control  of,  7. 
objects  for  which  they  are  built,  29. 
private  ownership  of,  criticisms  on,  182. 
state  control  of,  178. 

support  of,  primarily  from  local,  next  from  competitive, 
traffic.  207,  212,  213. 
Rail,  development  of  the,  259. 
Rails,  steel,  development  and  economy  of,  263,  323. 
Railway  capital,  amount  of  (1895)  in  stock  and  bonds,  311. 
carriage,  English,  evolution  of,  304. 

employees,  number  and  distribution  of,  1889-95,  326  et  seq. 
mileage  of  the  world,  distribution  of,  143. 
Review,  contribution  to,  on  railway  management,  153. 
Rastrick's  share  in  locomotive  development,  259,  260. 
Rate  and  cost  per  mile  of  passenger  traffic,  116. 
ton-mile,  1893-94,  112. 
average,  per  ton  and  passenger  mile,  of  little  practical  value,  25,  29. 
cutting,  how  affecting  operating  expense  account,  101. 

remedy  against,  103,  104. 
for  long  and  short  haul,  218. 
great  results  from  small  changes  in.  111. 
margin  between,  and  cost  per  ton-mile,  7,  121. 

decrease  of,  206,  266. 
on  coal,  Mass.  R.  R.  Commrs.'  advice  as  to,  204. 
per  ton-mile,  compared  with  cost,  93,  112. 

and  passenger-mile,  decrease  in,  1889-95,  332. 
Rates,  classification  (uniform)  of,  816,  217. 

competition  in.  difficulty  of  adjusting,  179. 

contracts  for  maintaining,  should  be  legalized,  126,  197,  198,  215-218. 

decrease  of,  more  rapid  than  decrease  of  cost,  310. 

discrimination  in,  6,  7. 

freight,  railroad  owners  and  managers  should  oppose  further  reduction 

of,  113,  114 
in  certain  cases,  to  be  charged  regardless  of  distance,  189. 
just  and  reasonable,  200. 
legalizing  contracts  to  maintain,  215,  216.  218. 
local  and  competitive,  reasonableness  in  their  origin  and  development, 

201-203. 
local,  should  rest  with  iocal  management,  185. 
lower,  through,  not  unjust  to  local  shippers.  189, 196. 
maximum  and  minimum,  uselessness  of  establishing,  206. 
minimum,  illustration  in  ascertaining,  on  S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  210, 
official  agreements  to  maintain,  should  be  upheld  by  law,  385. 


360  INDEX. 

Rates,  official  agreements  to  maintain,  benefits  of,  336. 

no  public  injury  would  result  from,  336. 
of  transportation  on  American  railroads,  106. 

continuing  tendency  to  lower,  318. 
publicity  of,  desirable,  205. 
should  not  be  changed  without  notice,  205. 
shrinkage  of,  on  competitive  traflRc,  102,  103, 
the  only  sound  reason  for  regulation  of,  by  law,  31. 
uniformity  in,  not  desirable,  212. 
(See  also  Freight  Rates  and  Tariffs. ) 
Rear  collisions,  engineer  of  train,  rather  than  flagman,  should  protect  against, 
19. 
greater  number  of,  are  between  freight-trains,  66. 
improvement  in  rules  to  prevent,  16. 
prevention  of,  by  space  vs.  time  interval,  18. 

by  fusees  thrown  off  by  engineer,  19. 
statistics  of,  229  et  seq. 
(See  also  Collisions.) 
Rebates  and  drawbacks,  cases  in  which  they  could  be  properly  allowed,  214. 
secret,  how  to  abolish,  126.    . 
injustice  of,  200. 

penalt}'  for,  recommended,  205,  215,  219. 
to  favored  shippers,  denounced,  334.  ! 

Rebate  system,  condemnation  of,  108,  199. 
Receiverships,  railroad,  effects  of,  183. 
Recreation,  rational,  advice  concerning,  283. 
Reduction  in  revenue,  cost,  and  profit  per  ton-mile,  106. 
Reed,  H.  W.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Refrigerator-cars,  report  on,  to  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  178. 
Relation  (percentage)  of  expenses  to  business  done,  209. 
Relations  between  railroad  corporations  and  their  employees,  5,  269. 

the  public,  5. 
Revenue  and  cost  per  freight-train  mile,  122. 

passenger-train  mile,  125. 
freight,  average,  per  mile  of  road,  126. 

in  cents  per  ton-mile,  106. 
from  passenger  and  freight  traffic.    See  Tables. 
passenger  and  freight,  per  mile  of  line,  320. 

(average),  per  mile  of  road,  127. 
per  train-mile,  how  to  increase,  127. 
railroad,  loss  of,  in  1889-95,  a  calamity,  333. 
Reversal  of  volume  of  railroad  business  and  profits,  108. 
Repairs  and  improvements,  decrease  of,  1893-95,  380. 

of  equipment,  apparently  neglected  in  1895,  327. 
Reports  to  government,  annual,  of  interstate  roads,  proper  form  and  items  of, 

221,  222. 
Retrenchment,  solution  of  problem  of,  on  "  Plant  System,"  159  et  seq. 
Responsibility,  division  of,  should  be  clearly  defined,  128. 
Rewards  and  punishments,  how  to  administer,  12,  13. 
Riley,  G.  M.  D.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Roadmasters'  Association  of  America,  address  before,  286. 

value  of,  to  its  members,  287,  289. 
Roadmaster  and  track-foreman,  the,  address  on,  286. 

duties  of,  138. 


INDEX.  361 

Road-supervisor,  proper  length  of  road  under  care  of,  133. 
Roadway  department,  description  «)f ,  100, 129, 132. 

head  of,  131. 

little  room  for  furtlier  economy  in,  268. 

management  of,  155. 

strict  discipline  most  necessary  in,  287. 

subdivisions  of,  131. 
Rolling-stock  department,  description  of,  129. 
Routing  freight  shipments,  215. 

Rules  governing  rear  flagman  on  "  Plant  System,"  254. 
train,  etc.    See  Standard  Code,  etc. 
in  case  of  unusual  stops,  255  et  seq. 
Russia,  continental  railroad  system  of,  145. 

Safety  appliances,  address  on,  38. 

committee  on  (Am.  Ry.  Asso'n),  22. 
importance  of,  2. 
public  interest  in,  cause  of,  38. 
supplementing  block-signals,  73. 
Safety  appliance  standards,  uniformity  in,  306. 
Safeguards,  practicable,  against  railroad  accidents,  227. 
Safety-coupler,   "the  most  popular,"  54. 

Saflford  draw-bar,  recommended  by  Mass.  R.  R.  Comm'rs,  45. 
Self-control  and  thoroughness,  necessary  qualities  for  railroad  advancement, 

276-277. 
Senate,  U.  S.,  statement  before  committee  of,  on  freight  rates,  pooling,  etc. , 

187  et  seq. 
Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Railway  Co.,  advisory  board  of,  165,  168. 

departments  of,  162,  166-167. 
estimated  and  actual  expenses  of, 

161-164. 
organization  of,  158. 
Shippers,  at  competitive  points,  protection  of  contracts  with,  200. 

competitive  (or  through),  are  a  benefit  to  local  shippers,  195. 

are  in  different  position  from  local,  as  to  rates,  31. 
large,  concessions  to,  218. 

local,  should  be  interested  in  their  road's  having  a  profitable  compet- 
itive business,  31,  195. 
right  of,  to  select  their  lines  of  transportation,  215. 
smaller,  maintenance  of  rates  for  protection  of,  126. 
Signals,  distant,  function  of,  73. 

use  of,  for  switch-protection,  241. 
form,  color,  or  position,  69. 
home,  supplemented  by  distant,  signals,  73. 
operators  of,  their  duties,  72,  238. 
(See  also  Block-signal  System.) 
Simple  problem,  a,  in  competitive  freight  traffic,  28. 
Sixty  and  one  hundred  miles  per  hour,  conditions  precedent  to  a  speed  of,  80, 

266. 
Sleeping-cars,  indispensable  for  long-distance  travel,  263. 
Southern  railroads,  change  of  gauge  upon,  60. 

Southern  Railway  and  Steamship  Association,  freight  classification  of,  188. 

methods  of  revising,  217. 


362  INDEX. 

Southern  Time  Convention,  consolidation  of,  with  General  Time  Convention,  1886 

1,  2,  140. 
Space-interval  between  trains,  18,  66,  67,  68,  ?9. 

absolute,  the  true  preventive  of  collisions,  237. 
importance  of,  in  preventing  accidents,  234. 
should  vary  with  speed  of  following  trains,  335. 
Specialization,  a  characteristic  tendency  of  the  age,  79,  82. 
Specific  unit  of  cost,  compared  with  ton-mile  basis  of  rates,  36. 
Speed  of  trains,  high,  conditions  and  improvements  essential  to,  80,  81. 
Standard  code  of  train  rules,  address  on,  62. 

addition  to,  of  block-signal  rules,  needed,  67. 

beginning  of,  1. 

committee  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n  on,   6. 

completed  by  General  Time  Convention,  2. 

efficiency  of,  246. 

extension  of,  recommended,  246. 

how  they  should  be  worded,  63. 

justify  existence  of  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n,  140. 

memorial  of  Train  Dispatchers'  Asso'n  concerning 

amendments  to,  62. 
necessity  of  additions  to,  recognizing  double-track 

roads,  65. 
primarily  designed  for  single-track  movements,  65- 
primary  and  secondary  rules  of,  63. 
referred  to,  in  courts  of  law,  as  best  practice,  62. 
should  not  be  frequently  altered,  except  to  recog- 
nize improvements  in  train  service,  64. 
telegraph  rules  of,  the  great  value  of,  246. 
two  methods  of,  prescribing  safe   space-interval 

between  trains,  235. 
violation  of,  should  be  punishable  by  law,  14. 
Standard  self-couplers,  report  of  Mass.  Railroad  Commissioners  on,  45. 

report  of  M.  C.  B.  committee  on  desirability  of,  44. 
Janney  or  M.  C.  B.  type  of  car-coupler  adopted  by  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n, 

1888-89;  approved  by  Am.  Ry.  Asso'n,  1890-91,  48-50. 
(See  also  Car-couplers.) 
Standing  committees  of  the  Am.  Ry.  Association,  16. 

State   railroad   commissioners,  committee  of,    to  present   bill   to   Congress 

concerning  car-couplers,  53. 
hearing  of  R.  R.  officials  before,  53. 
Statistics,  accident,  of  Railroad  Gazette,  227,  228. 

of  freight  and  passenger  revenue  and  cost,  106  et  seq. 

of  Pres't  Harrison  and  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  on  coupling 

casualties,  52. 
of  operating  expenses,  value  of,  27. 
of  traffic,  etc.,  1892,  102. 
railroad,  applicability  of,  127. 
(See  Tables.) 
Station  agents,  and  other  station  men,  number  of,  1893-95,  338.  - 

relations  of,  with  railroad  patrons,  139. 
Stations,  collisions  at,  how  prevented,  241. 
Steam-heating  of  trains,  245,  246. 
Steel,  Bessemer,  importance  of,  in  railroad  and  bridge  construction,  268,  264. 


INDEX.  363 

Steel  rails,  Bessemer,  an  epoch  in  railway  development,  263. 

economy  of,  323. 
Stephenson,  assertion  of,  on  competition  and  combination,  7. 
outside  connected  cylinders  first  designed  by,  261. 
Robert,  and  the  "battle  of  the  gauges,"  261 
Stephensons,  the,  early  locomotive  builders,  259. 
Stock,  railroad,  amount  of,  in  United  States,  1892,  102. 
dividends  on,  1891,90. 

productive  and  non-productive,  per  mile  of  road,  316. 
watering,  evils  of,  183. 

helped  on  by  consolidations,  184. 
Stops,  unusual,  rules  in  case  of,  on  "Plant  System,"  255  et  seq. 
Strike,  confusion  during  a,  when  work  is  done  by  strangers,  281. 
Strikes  of  employees,  conditions  attending,  87,  88. 
Superintendent,  Division,  sphere  and  responsibility  of,  136. 
officials  represented  by,  138. 
Mechanical,  head  of  machinery  and  rolling-stock  department, 

133. 
of  Transportation,  duties,  assistants,  etc.,  134. 
Superintendents  unable  to  reduce  expenses  as  fast  as  traffic  oflBcials  reduce 

rates,  323. 
Supervision  of  employees,  carefulness  in,  12. 
Supervisor  of  road— the  length  of  track  he  should  be  responsible  for,  132. 

or  track  foreman,  labor  and  responsibility  of,  286. 
Supply  department,  responsibility  for,  131. 
Switch  and  crossing  protection,  interlocking  for,  73. 
Switchmen,  flagmen,  and  watchmen,  number  of,  189-3-95,  328. 
Switch-levers,  counterweigh  ted,  for  main-line  switches,  241,  243. 
Switches,  open,  remedy  against,  243,  346. 

distant  signal  connection  for,  241,  243. 

Tables.    Accidents,  personal  injuries  in,  250. 
Annual  freight  earnings,  1889-93,  109. 

freight  traffic,  volume  of,  108,  321. 
net  earnings,  increase  of,  1889-93,  110. 
passenger  earnings,  increase  of,  1889-93, 117. 

net,  increase  and  decrease  of,  1889-93, 118 
traffic,  increase  of,  1889-93,  116. 
Average  annual  mileage  of  train  employees,  1893-95,  329. 
capitalization  per  mile  of  road,  316. 
cost  per  passenger-mile  in  cents,  119. 
train-load  in  tons,  1893,  123. 
Capital,  railroad,  statistics  concerning,  114,  115,  311,  314-317,  840. 
Changes  in  net  earnings,  1892-94,  113. 
Comparative  cost  per  passenger-train  mile  in  cents,  125. 
Comparison  of  estimated  and  actual  expenses,  "  Plant  System,"  164. 
Cost,  average,  per  passenger -mile  in  cents,  119. 

comparative,  per  passenger-mile  in  cents,  125. 
details  of,  per  passenger-mile,  1889-93,  124. 

per  ton-mile,  1889-93,  121. 
of  conducting  transportation,  324. 
of  operation  per  mile  of  line,  1889-95,  323. 
classified,  1889-95,  322. 
proportion  of,  to  total  cost  per  mile  of  line,  323. 


364  IKDEX. 

Tables.    Cost.    (See  also  Rate  and  Revenue.) 

Decrease  in  the  several  classes  of  employees,  1893-95,  330. 
of  freight  earnings,  1893-94,  109. 
of  ton-mileage  in  U.  S.,  1893-94,  108, 
total,  of   freight   revenue,  cost   and  profit   per  ton-mile, 

1893-95,  107,  308,  309. 
total,  of  passenger  traffic  per  passenger-mile,  1893-95,  308, 
309. 
Details  of  cost  per  passenger-mile,  1889-93,  124. 

per  ton-mile,  1889-93,  121. 
Distribution  of  net  earnings,  1895,  313. 
Dividends  and  interest,  amount  of,  paid  in  1895,  313,  315. 
paid  per  mile  of  line,  in  1895,  318. 
percentage  of,  actually  paid,  in  1895,  316. 
and  capital,  statistics  of,  1888-95,  338. 
Earnings  and  mileage,  percentage  of  increase  and  decrease  in,  111. 
and  passenger-mileage,  increase  of,  119. 
freight,  annual,  1889-93,  109. 

decrease  of,  1893-94,  109. 
increase  of,  1891-93,  110. 
net,  decrease  of,  1893-94,  112,  113. 
distribution  of,  1895,  313. 
increase  of,  1889-93,  110. 
gross  and  net,  from  railroad  operations,  1895,  312,  313. 
net,  relations  of,  to  capital,  114,  115. 
passenger,  increase  of,  1889-93,  117. 
per  mile  of  line,  317. 

net,  increase  and  decrease  of,  1889^  93, 118. 
total,  from  freight  and  passenger  traffic,  1893,  120. 
traffic,  analysis  of,  1889-95,  338. 
Employees,  decrease  in  total  number  of,  1893-95,  330. 
proportionate  distribution  of,  326. 
total  number  of,  and  per  100  miles  of  line,  326. 
compared  with  cost,  in  each  department : 
(a)  conducting  transportation,  328. 
(5)  general  administration,  329. 

(c)  maintenance  of  equipment,  327. 

(d)  maintenance  of  way,  327. 
transportation,  distribution  of,  in  detail,  1893-95,  328. 

Equipment  per  mile  of  line,  323. 

Expenses,  monthly  estimate  of,  S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  1884,  162. 

operating,  analysis  of,  1888-95,  339. 
Freight  and  passenger  business,  per  mile  of  road,  1893, 120. 

per  train-mile,  reduction  in,  116. 
total  earnings  from,  1893, 120. 
traffic,  annual  volume  of,  108,  321. 
Increase  of  passenger  mileage  and  earnings,  5  years,  119. 
railroad  capital  investments,  1889-93,  114. 
road-mileage,  1889-94,  114. 
Investment  per  mile  of  road,  115 

railroad,  total,  returns  on,  314,  315. 
Maintenance  of  equipment,  in  cents  per  train-mile,  1889-95,  S24. 
Number  of  railway  employees,  1889-95.  326. 
Operating  expenses,  analysis  of,  1888-95,  339. 


INDEX.  365 


Tables.     Passenger-miles  and  gross  earnings,  increase  of,  1889-93, 117, 119. 

total,  1893-94,  116. 
Passenger  traffic  per  mile  of  road,  1889-94,  120. 
Percentage  of  increase  and  decrease  in  mileage  and  earnings,  111. 
Personal  injuries  in  serious  railroad  accidents,  250. 
Profit  per  passenger-  and  ton-mile,  106,  116. 
Proportionate  distribution  of  employees,  326. 
Railroad  accidents  in  the  United  States,  1873-92,  229. 

frequency  of,  230. 
Railway  capital,  amount  of  (1895),  in  stock  and  bonds,  311. 
Rate  and  cost  per  ton-mile,  1893-94,  112. 
Rate,  cost  and  net,  per  ton-mile,  decrease  of,  1889-93,  121. 
Recapitulation,  traffic,  earnings  and  capitalization,  per  mile  of  line, 

317. 
Relation  of  net  earnings  to  railroad  capital,  114-115. 
Returns  on  total  railroad  investments,  1895,  314. 

paying,  315. 
Revenue  and  cost  of  passengei?  traffic,  115, 116. 
per  freight-train  mile,  123. 
per  passenger  mile,  115,  125. 
per  train-mile,  freight  and  passenger,  819. 
Revenue,  cost  and  profit  per  passenger- mile,  116. 
per  ton-mile,  106. 
annual  decrease  in,  107. 
Serious  accidents,  personal  injuries  in,  250. 
Statistics  of  railroad  capital  and  earnings,  1888-95,  340. 
Stock  and  bonds  per  mile  of  road,  315. 

productive'and  non-productive,  per  mile  of  road,  316. 
Ton-mileage,  decrease  of,  in  1893-94,  112. 
increase  of,  in  1889-93,  110. 
Ton-mile,— revenue,  cost  and  profit,  per,  106,  107. 
Tons  and  freight  earnings  per  mile,  1889-94,  114. 
Total  dividends  and  interest  paid,  1895,  313,  315. 

earnings  from  freight  and  passenger  traffic,  1893,  130. 
Traffic,  earnings  and  capitalization,  per  mile  of  line,  317. 
Traffic  earnings,  analysis  of,  1889-95,  338. 

statistics  (rates,  cost,  etc.),  1888-95,  337. 
Train  mileage  (freight  and  passenger),  1888-95,  total,  percentage,  and 

per  mile  of  line,  320. 
Train-mile,  revenue  and  cost  per,  123,  319, 
Volume  of  freight-traffic,  ton-miles  per  mile  of  line,  310. 

passenger  traffic,  passenger-miles  per  mile  of  line,  310. 
Tariff,  Interstate,  establishment  of,  207. 
principles  of,  212. 
of  Georgia  R.  R.  Commission,  anomalies  in,  190-194. 

discriminations  of,  191,  192. 
railroad,  average  rate  per  ton-mile  and  per  passenger-mile,  not  applica- 
ble in  fixing,  25. 
railroad,  basis  for,  24,  25. 

cannot  be  evolved  by  act  of  Congress,  212,  213. 
(See  also  Railroad  Takiff  and  Rates.) 
Technical  knowledge,  growing  importance  of.  in  railroad  practice,  265. 
Telegraph,  different  use  of,  in  American  and  European  R.  R.  pi-actice,  264. 
movement  of  trains  by,  under  Standard  Code,  63. 


366  INDEX. 

Telegraph  operators  and  dispatchers,  number  of,  1893-95,  328. 

rules  of  Standard  Code,  value  of,  in  preventing  collisions,  246. 
Telford  roads,  258. 

Territorial  responsibility  of  railroad  oflacers,  137. 
Theory,  definition  of,  288, 
Thrift,  importance  of,  281. 

of  the  French  people,  282. 
Time-interval  between  trains,  18,  29,  66,  67. 
Time,  preciousness  of,  282, 

Ton-  and  passenger-mile,  futility  of  units  of  cost  of,  310. 
Ton  mileage,  amount  of  in  1892,  102. 
decrease  of,  1893-94,  112. 
increase  of,  1889-93,  110. 

percentage  of.  111, 
Ton-mile,  annual  decrease  in  revenue,  cost  and  profit  per,  107. 
average,  vs.  specific  cost  of,  210. 
basis,  compared  with  specific  units  of  cost  in  making  through  rates, 

36. 
cost  (average),  a  fallacious  element  in  making  comparisons,  104. 

in  making  tariffs,  25,  29,  31. 
revenue,  cost  and  profit  per,  106  et  $eq. 
statistics  of  rate  and  cost  of,  1893-94,  112. 
(See  also  Rates  and  Revenue.) 
Tonnage,  small  class  of  operating  expenses  bears  direct  relation  to,  208,  210. 
Tons  and  freight  earnings,  per  mile,  114. 
Track,  defects  of,  causing  derailments,  classified,  242, 

length  of  sections  of,  132. 
Track-foreman,  the,  address  concerning,  286, 
Trackman,  the,  intensely  practical,  287. 

becomes  by  association  more  theoretical,  288. 
Traffic  and  transportation  departments,  line  of  division  between,  135. 
agreements,  legally  enforced,— a  plan  worth  trying,  336. 
competitive.    (See  Competitive  Business.) 
decrease  in  volume  of,  1893-94,  112. 
department,  management  of,  156. 

sphere  of,  130,  131. 
earnings,  statistics  of,  1888-95,  338. 

increa.se  in  freight  and  decrease  in  passenger,  1889-95,  332. 
local,  must  support  its  railroad,  201,  202. 
managements,  tendency  of,  to  reduce  rates  per  ton-mile  but  not  per  pass- 

senger  mile,  124. 
manager,  evolution  of,  96. 

responsibility  of,  104,  105. 
passenger,  decrease  of,  1895,  311, 

difficulties  in  regulation  of ,  126, 
total,  1891-3,  earnings,  cost  and  net,  119. 
railroad,  culmination  of,  311. 
statistics,— rate,  cost,  etc.,  1888-95,  337. 
(See  Freight  Traffic  and  Passenger  Traffic.) 
Train  accidents,  increased  liability  to,  231. 

Train  Dispatchers'  Association  of  America,  memorial  of,  concerning  amend- 
ments to  train  rules,  62. 
Trainmen  (not  conductors),  number  of,  1893-95,  328. 
Trains,  fires  on,  cases  of,  classified,  245, 


INDEX.  367 

Train-order  system,  originated  by  Moran  of  the  Erie  R.  R.,  264 

characteristic  of  American  railway  management,  265. 
Train  signals,  uniform,  establishment  of,  1. 
rules  (uniform),  beginning  of,  1. 

for  double-track  roads  needed,  74. 

violations  of,  should  be  dealt  with  by  the  courts,  14,  247. 
(See  also  Standard  Code  of  Train  Rules.) 
service,  greater  saving  in  freight  than  passenger,  320. 
proper  division  of  responsibility  in,  134. 
Trains,  possible  speed  of,  80,  266. 

protection  of,  against  carelessness  of  the  train-men  themselves,  73. 
by  flagmen,  17, 18. 

other  agencies,  66,  67. 
time  and  space  intervals  between,  18,  66-68. 
Transportation,  conducting,  cost  of,  122, 124. 

cost  of,  compared  with  cost  of  maintenance  of  way  and  equip* 

ment,  26. 
per  mile  and  train-mile,  1889-95,  324. 
why  increased,  325. 
cost  of,  24,  26,  31. 

problem  of  ascertaining,  202-204. 
definition  of  cost  of,  26. 
department,  description  of,  100,  130,  134. 
head  of,  134 

officials,  advancement  of,  to  what  due,  263,  265. 
relation  of,  to  traffic  department,  135. 
S.,  F.  &  W.  Ry.,  expenses  of,  166,  167. 
freight,  annual,  table  of,  for  six  years,  108. 
less  margin  between  charge  for,  and  cost  of  service,  106. 
problems,  successful  solution  of,  by  present   generation   of 

railroad  men,  263. 
revenue,  decreasing  more  rapidly  than  cost,  319. 
service,  public  interest  in  better  and  safer,  not  cheaper,  93. 
specific  cost  of,  items  to  be  included  in,  213. 
the  two  elements  of  charge  for,  24. 
Travelling  public,  its  interest  in  the  enforcement  of  railroad  discipline,  14. 
Truck,  four-wheel,  (bogie)  advantages  of  in  car  construction,  305. 
on  American  roads,  effect  of,  on  social  life,  304 

Ulnio,  H.  A.,  member  advisory  board,  "  Plant  System,"  170. 
Uniform  car-couplers.    (See  Car-couplers.) 
code  of  train  rules,  beginning  of,  1. 

necessity  for,  64. 
system  of  railroad  accounts  not  desirable,  221. 
train  signals,  establishment  of,  1. 
Uniformity,  efforts  of  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n,  in  behalf  of,  306. 

in  non-essentials  not  needed  in  railway  management,  157. 
of  classification  desirable,  but  not  of  rates,  212,  216,  217. 
United  States,  meeting  of  International  Railway  Congress  advocated,  147,  296. 
people  of,  have  free  use  of  half  the  capital  invested  in  railroads, 

315. 
railroad  mileage  of,  265,  331. 

relation  of  railroad  system  of,  with  general  public,  177. 
Senate,  committee  of,  statement   before,   concerning    freight 
rates,  pooling,  etc,  187  et  seq. 


368  INDEX. 

United  States,  value  of  railroad  property  in,  308, 

Unit,  lowest,  of  operating  cost,  nearly  reached,  81. 

Units  of  cost,  in  freight  and  passenger  service,  vahie  of,  35. 

per  ton-  and  passenger-mile,  futility  of,  310,  318. 
specific,  compared  with  ton-mile  basis  in  getting  competitive 
business,  36. 
Unjust  discrimination  in  rates,  definition  of  three  classes  of,  196. 
evils  of,  334. 

most  reprehensible  form  of,  198. 
percentage  of  net  earnings  reduced  by,  335. 
public  opinion  a  bar  to  reform  in,  334. 
remedy  for,  335. 
Unusual  stops  of  trains,  rules  for  flagmen  for,  on  "  Plant  System,"  254  et  seq. 
Usefulness,  field  of,  of  the  American  Railway  Asso'n,  1,  3. 

Value  of  railroad  property  in  the  United  States,  308,  et  seq. 

conclusions  concerning,  331. 
Vanishing  point  in  railroad  profits,  tendency  toward,  124,  309. 
Vertical-hook  type  of  couplers  established  by  action  of  .Janney  Co.,  49. 

plane  principle  for  automatic  couplers  first  suggested  by  Mr.  Wall,  46. 
Vestibule  platform  improvements,  305,  306. 
Vignoles,  originator  of  the  the  T-raii,  259. 
Volume  of  freight  and  passenger  traffic  per  mile  of  line,  310,  332. 

railroad  traflflc,  culmination  of,  311,  318. 
Voorhees,  Theo.,  moved  adoption  of  M.  C.  B.  standard  coupler,  50. 
Vote  by  railroad  employees  on  type  of  uniform  couplers,  57. 

Wages  are  what  part  of  operating  expenses,  98. 

must  suffer  from  any  further  reduction  in  the  rates,  122. 

of  employees  compared  with  total  cost  of  railroad  operation,  330. 

of  railroad  men,  278. 

of  trackmen,  1892-95,  327. 

of  transportation  men,  reduction  in,  1893-95,  328,  329. 

proportion  of,  in  different  railroad  departments,  100,  101. 

reduction  of,  difficulties  concerning,  91,  98,  101, 113. 

scale  of,  in  the  iron  trade,  88. 
Wagner  sleeping-cars,  263. 

Watches,  accuracy  of,  ensured  by  standard  rules,  63. 
Watchmen,  etc.,  number  of,  1893-95,  328. 
Watering  stock  too  often  a  sequence  of  foreclosure,  183. 
Water-routes,  effect  upon  transportation,  223. 

natural  protection  of  interstate  commerce,  224. 
Watt  and  Bolton,  allusion  to,  259. 
Western  Railway  Club,  address  before,  1895,  290. 
Westinghouse,  Geo.,  Jr.,  great  invention  of,  264,  300. 
Wilder,  Mr.  (N.  Y.,  L.  E.,  &  W.  R.  R.)  remark  of,  on  couplers,  46. 
Wilson  and  Walker's  car  coupler,  approved  for  trial  by  Com.  M.  C.  B.  Asso*D,  46. 
Workmen,  condition  of  American  and  European,  compared,  86. 
World's  Columbian  Exposition,  address  at,  on  "  Railroad  Day,"  258. 
Railway  Commerce  Congress,  address  before,  227. 

Yardmasters'  action  on  safety  couplers,  41. 

Association,  coSperation  of.  with  M.  C.  B.  Asso'n  against  coup- 
ling accidents,  42,  44. 
Young  Men's  Christian  *i  — 'n .  Npr  Ynrli  1(1?   Branch,  address  before,  271. 
Young  men  (railroad),  advijjp^e^p^rU^^^^Kl*!^  276. 
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Wait's  Engineering  and  Architectural  Jurisprudence Svo, 

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tecture  12mo, 

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ARMY,  NAVY,  Etc. 

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3 


$3  50 

3  00 

2  50 

1  00 

1  50 

5  00 

75 

4  00 

5  00 

4  00 

6  00 

6  50 

1  25 

2  50 

5  00 

6  00 

3  00 

12  50 

2  00 

7  00 

7  50 

2  50 

2  00 

1  25 

15  00 

10  00 

5  00 

3  00 

1  50 

1  50 

4  00 

|7  50 

2  00 

4  00 

5  00 

1  50 

10 

2  50 

4  00 

1  50 

3  50 

2  00 

2  50 

1  60 

2  00 

1  00 

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"  "  "         "  "  first  edition 

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3 


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Thome's  Structural  Botany 16mo,  2  25 

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Boiler's  Highway  Bridges 8vo,      2  00 

*     "      The  Thames  River  Bridge 4to,  paper,      5  00 

Burr's  Stresses  in  Bridges. . . ,   Svo,      3  50 

Crehore's  Mechanics  of  the  Girder Svo,      5  00 

Dredge's  Thames  Bridges 7  parts,  per  part,       1  25 

Du  Bois's  Stresses  in  Framed  Structures Small  4to,     10  00 

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Greene's  Arches  in  Wood,  etc Svo,       2  50 

"        Bridge  Trusses Svo,       2  50 

Roof  Trusses Svo,       125 

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Johnson's  Modern  Framed  Structures Small  4to,     10  00 

Merriman    &    Jacoby's    Text-book    of    Roofs    and    Bridges. 

Part  L,  Stresses Svo,      2  50 

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Part  IL,  Graphic  Statics Svo,      2  50 

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Part  in.,  Bridge  Design Svo,      2  50 

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Wright's  Designing  of  Draw  Spans.     Parts  I.  and  II.. Svo,  each 
"  "  "      "  "         Complete Svo, 


2  50 

10  00 

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(Wells.)         Trans. 

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Fuertes's  Water  and  Public  Health , 12mo,  1  50 

Gill's  Gas  and  Fuel  Analysis 12mo,  1  25 

Hammarsten's  Physiological  Chemistry.   (Mandel.) 8vo,  4  00 

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$2  50 

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2  00 

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Hill's  Shades  and  Shadows  and  Perspective 8vo,  2  00 

MacCord's  Descriptive  Geometry 8vo,  3  00 

"          Kinematics 8vo,  5  00 

"          Mechanical  Drawing 8vo,  4  00 

Mahan's  Industrial  Drawing.    (Thompson.) 2  vols.,  8vo,  3  50 

Reed's  Topographical  Drawing.     (H.  A.) 4to,  .5  00 

Reid's  A  Course  in  Mechanical  Drawing 8vo.  2  00 

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"        Linear  Perspective 12mo,  1  00 

"        Machine  Construction 2  vols.,  8vo,  7  50 

"        Plane  Problems 12mo,  125 

' '        Primary  Geometry 12mo,  75 

"        Problems  and  Theorems 8vo,  2  50 

**        Projection  Drawing 12mo,  150 

6 


Warren's  Shades  and  Shadow^. 8vo,  $300 

"        Stereotomy— Stone-cutting 8vo,  2  50 

Whelpley's  Letter  Engraving 12mo,  2  GO 

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Anthony  and  Brackett's  Text-book  of  Physics.     (Magie.)  Small 

8vo,  3  00 

Anthony's  Theory  of  Electrical  Measurements 12mo,  1  00 

Barker's  Deep-sea  Soundings 8vo,  2  00 

Benjamin's  Voltaic  Cell Svo,  3  00 

History  of  Electricity ....Svo,  3  00 

Classen's  Analysis  by  Electrolysis.   (Herrick  and  Boltwood.)  Svo,  3  00 

Cosmic  Law  of  Thermal  Repulsion 12mo,  75 

Crehore  and  Squier's  Experiments  with  a  New  Polarizing  Photo- 
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Vol.11 4to,  7  50 

Gilbert's  De  maguete.    (Mottelay.) Svo,  2  50 

Holmau's  Precision  of  Measurements Svo,  2  00 

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Lob's  Electrolysis  and  Electrosynthesis  of  Organic  Compounds. 

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Morgan's  The  Theory  of  Solutions  and  its  Results 12mo,  1  00 

Niaudet's  Electric  Batteries.     (Fishback.) 12mo,  2  50 

Pratt  and  Alden's  Street-railway  Road-beds Svo,  2  00 

Reagan's  Steam  and  Electric  Locomotives .12mo,  2  00 

Thurston's  Stationary  Steam  Engines  for  Electric  Lighting  Pur- 
poses  Svo,  2  50 

♦Tillman's  Heat. . . , Svo,  1  50 

7' 


ENGINEERING. 

Civil — Mechanical — Sanitary,  Etc. 

{See  also  Bridges,  p.  4 ;  Hydraulics,  p.  9 ;  Materials  of  En- 
gineering, p.  10;  Mechanics  and  Machinery,  p.  12 ;  Steam 
Engines  and  Boilers,  p.  14.) 

Baker's  Masonry  Construction 8vo,  $5  00 

"       Surveying  Instruments 12mo,  3  00 

Black's  U.  S.  Public  Works Oblong  4to,  5  00 

Brooks's  Street-railway  Location -. 16mo,  morocco,  1  50 

Butts's  Civil  Engineers'  Field  Book 16mo,  morocco,  2  50 

Byrne's  Highway  Construction 8vo,  5  00 

"       Inspection  of  Materials  and  Workmanship 16mo,  3  00 

Carpenter's  Experimental  Engineering 8vo,  6  00 

Church's  Mechanics  of  Engineering — Solids  and  Fluids Svo,  6  00 

"       Notes  and  Examples  in  Mechanics Svo,  2  00 

Crandall's  Earthwork  Tables Svo,  1  50 

' '         The  Transition  Curve 16mo,  morocco,  1  50 

*  Dredge's    Penn.    Railroad    Construction,    etc.      Large     4to, 

half  morocco,  20  00 

*  Drinker's  Tunnelling 4to,  half  morocco,  25  00 

Eissler's  Explosives — Nitroglycerine  and  Dynamite Svo,  4  00 

Folwell's  Sewerage Svo,  3  00 

Fowler's  Coffer-dam  Process  for  Piers .Svo.  2  50 

Gerhard's  Sanitary  House  Inspection 12mo,  1  00 

Godwin's  Railroad  Engineer's  Field-book 16mo,  morocco,  2  50 

Gore's  Elements  of  Geodesy .  .Svo,  2  50 

Howard's  Transition  Curve  Field-book 16mo,  morocco,  1  50 

Howe's  Retaining  Walls  (New  Edition.) 12mo,  1  25 

Hudson^s  Excavation  Tables.     Vol.  II Svo,  1  00 

Hutton's  Mechanical  Engineering  of  Power  Plants Svo,  5  00 

Johnson's  Materials  of  Construction Large  Svo,  6  00 

Stadia  Reduction  Diagram.  .Sheet,  22^  X  2Si  inches,  50 

"         Theory  and  Practice  of  Surveying Small  Svo,  4  00 

Kent's  Mechanical  Engineer's  Pocket-book 16mo,  morocco,  5  00 

Kiersted's  Sewage  Disposal 12mo,  1  25 

Mahan's  Civil  Engineering.     (Wood.) Svo,  5  00 

Merriman  and  Brook's  Handbook  for  Surveyors 16mo,  mor.,  2  00 

Merriman's  Geodetic  Surveying Svo,  2  00 

"         Retaining  Walls  and  Masonry  Dams Svo,  2  00 

"         Sanitary  Engineering Svo,  2  00 

Nagle's  Manual  for  Railroad  Engineers 16mo,  morocco,  3  00 

Ogden's  Sewer  Design.     (In  the  press.) 

Patton's  Civil  Engineering Svo,  half  morocco,  7  50 

8 


Patton's  Foundations 8vo,  $5  00 

Pratt  and  Aldeu's  Street-railway  Road-beds. 8vo,  2  00 

Rockwell's  Roads  and  Pavements  in  France 12mo,  1  25 

Searles's  Field  Engineering 16mo,  morocco,  3  00 

"       Railroad  Spiral 16mo,  morocco,  150 

Siebert  and  Biggin's  Modern  Stone  Cutting  and  Masonry. .  .8vo,  1  50 

Smart's  Engineering  Laboratory  Practice 12mo,  2  50 

Smith's  Wire  Manufacture  and  Uses Small  4to,  3  00 

Spalding's  Roads  and  Pavements 12mo,  2  00 

Hydraulic  Cement 12mo,  2  00 

Taylor's  Prismoidal  Formulas  and  Earthwork 8vb,  1  50 

Thurston's  Materials  of  Construction 8vo,  5  00 

*  Trautwine's  Civil  Engineer's  Pocket-book 16mo,  morocco,  5  00 

*  "          Cross-section Sheet,  25 

*  •*          Excavations  and  Embankments 8vo,  2  00 

*  "           Laying  Out  Curves 12mo,  morocco,  2  50 

Waddell's  De  Pontibus  (A  Pocket-book  for  Bridge  Engiueers). 

16rao,  morocco,  3  00 

Wait's  Engineering  and  Architectural  Jurisprudence 8vo,  6  00 

Sheep,  6  50 

"      Law  of  Field  Operation  in  Engineering,  etc 8vo. 

Warren's  Stereotomy— Stone-cutting 8vo,  2  50 

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New  Edition 125 

Wegmann's  Construction  of  Masonry  Dams 4to,  5  00 

Wellington's  Location  of  Railways Small  8vo,  5  00 

Wheeler's  Civil  Engineering 8vo,  4  00 

Wolff's  Windmill  as  a  Prime  Mover 8vo,  3  00 


HYDRAULICS. 

Water-wheels — Windmills — Service  Pipe — Drainage,  Etc. 

(See  also  Engineering,  p.  7. ) 

Bazin's  Experiments  upon  the  Contraction  of  the  Liquid  Vein. 

(Trautwine.) 8vo,  2  00 

Bovey 's  Treatise  on  Hydraulics 8vo,  4  00 

Coffin's  Graphical  Solution  of  Hydraulic  Problems 12mo,  2  50 

Ferrel's  Treatise  on  the  Winds,  Cyclones,  and  Tornadoes. .  .8vo,  4  00 

Fuertes's  Water  and  Public  Health." 12mo,  1  50 

Ganguillet  &  Kutter's  Flow  of  Water.     (Bering  &  Trautwine.) 

8vo,  4  00 

Hazen's  Filtration  of  Public  Water  Supply ; 8vo,  2  00 

Herschel's  115  Experiments. » 8vo,  2  00 

9 


Kiersted^s  Sewage  Disposal ISmo,  $1  25 

Mason's  Water  Supply 8vo,  5  00 

"    Examination  of  Water 12mo,  1  25 

Merriman's  Treatise  on  Hydraulics.. 8vo,  4  00 

Nicliois's  Water  Supply  (Chemical  and  Sanitary) 8vo,  2  50 

Wegmann's  Water  Supply  of  the  City  of  New  York 4to,  10  00 

Weisbach's  Hydraulics.     (Du  Bois.) Svo,  5  00 

Whipple's  Microscopy  of  Drinking  Water Svo,  3  50 

Wilson's  Irrigation  Engineering Svo,  4  00 

"       Hydraulic  and  Placer  Mining 12mo,  2  00 

Wolff's  Windmill  as  a  Prime  Mover Svo,  3  00 

Wood's  Theory  of  Turbines Svo.  2  50 

MANUFACTURES. 

Boilers— Explosives— Iron — Steel  —Sugar — Woollens,  Etc. 

Allen's  Tables  for  Iron  Analysis Svo,  3  00 

Beaumont's  Woollen  and  Worsted  Manufacture 12mo,  1  50 

Bolland's  Encyclopaedia  of  Founding  Terms 12mo,  3  00 

The  Iron  Founder 12mo,  2  50 

Supplement 12mo,  2  50 

Bouvier's  Handbook  on  Oil  Painting 12mo,  2  00 

Eissler's  Explosives,  Nitroglycerine  and  Dynamite Svo,  4  00 

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Metcalfe's  Cost  of  Manufactures Svo,  5  00 

Metcalf 's  Steel— A  Manual  for  Steel  Users 12mo,  2  00 

*  Reisig's  Guide  to  Piece  Dyeing Svo,  25  00 

Spencer's  Sugar  Manufacturer's  Handbook 16mo,  morocco,  2  00 

"        Handbook    for    Chemists    of    Beet    Sugar    Houses. 

16mo,  morocco,  3  00 

Thurston's  Manual  of  Steam  Boilers Svo,  5  00 

Walke's  Lectures  on  Explosives Svo,  4  00 

West's  American  Foundry  Practice 12mo,  2  50 

"      Moulder's  Text-book 12mo,  2  50 

Wiechmann's  Sugar  Analysis Small  Svo,  2  50 

Woodbury's  Fire  Protection  of  Mills Svo,  2  50 

MATERIALS  OF  ENGINEERING. 

Strength — Elasticity — Resistance,  Etc. 
{See  also  Engineering,  p.  7.) 

Baker's  Masonry  Construction Svo,  5  00 

Beardslee  and  Kent's  Strength  of  Wrought  Iron Svo,  1  50 

Bovey's  Strength  of  Materials Svo,  7  50 

Burr's  Elasticity  and  Resistance  of  Materials Svo,  5  00 

Byrne's  Highway  Construction Svo,  5  00 

10 


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Du  Bois's  Stresses  in  Framed  Structures Small  4to,  10  00 

Johnson's  Materials  of  Construction 8vo,  6  00 

Lanza's  Applied  Mechanics.    8vo,  7  50 

Martens's  Materials.     (Henning.) 8vo,     {In  the  press.) 

Merrill's  Stones  for  Building  and  Decoration 8vo,  5  00 

Merriman's  Mechanics  of  Materials 8vo,  4  00 

Strength  of  Materials 12mo,  1  00 

Patton's  Treatise  on  Foundations 8vo,  5  00 

Rockwell's  Roads  and  Pavements  in  France 12mo,  1  25 

Spalding's  Roads  and  Pavements 12mo,  2  00 

Thurston's  Materials  of  Construction 8vo,  5  00 

"         Materials  of  Engineering 3  vols.,  8vo,  8  00 

Vol.  I.,  Non-metallic  8vo,  2  00 

Vol.  IL,  Iron  and  Steel 8vo,  3  50 

Vol.  III.,  Alloys,  Brasses,  and  Bronzes 8vo,  2  50 

Wood's  Resistance  of  Materials 8vo,  2  00 

MATHEMATICS. 

Calculus— Geometky— Trigonometry,  Etc. 

Baker's  Elliptic  Functions 8vo,  1  50 

Ballard's  Pyramid  Problem 8vo,  1  50 

Barnard's  Pyramid  Problem 8vo,  1  50 

*Bass's  Differential  Calculus 12mo,  4  00 

Briggs's  Plane  Analytical  Geometry 12mo,  1  00 

Chapman's  Theory  of  Equations 12mo,  1  50 

Compton's  Logarithmic  Computations 12mo,  1  50 

Davis's  Introduction  to  the  Logic  of  Algebra 8vo,  1  50 

Halsted's  Elements  of  Geometry c..8vo,  1  75 

Synthetic  Geometry 8vo,  150 

Johnson's  Curve  Tracing 12mo,  1  00 

•'        Differential  Equations— Ordinary  and  Partial. 

Small  8vo,  3  50 

**        Integral  Calculus 12mo,  1  50 

••  "  "         Unabridged.     Small  8vo. 

{In  tlie  press. ) 

"        Least  Squares 12mo,  1  50 

*Ludlow's  Logarithmic  and  Other  Tables.     (Bass.) 8vo,  2  00 

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*Mahan's  Descriptive  Geometry  (Stone  Cutting)  8vo,  1  50 

Merriman  and  Woodward's  Higher  Mathematics 8vo,  5  00 

Merriman's  Method  of  Least  Squares 8vo,  2  00 

Parker's  Quadrature  of  the  Circle 8vo,  2  50 

Rice  and  Johnson's  Differential  and  Integral  Calculus, 

2  vols,  in  1,  small  8vo,  2  50 
11 


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12 


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AUG  2 3  1963 


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